Nearby Attractions - Porta Sant'Agata Aparments

Palermo

View from Castle Utveggio, Monte Pellegrino

Porta Sant'Agata

30m walking
It’s one of the oldest testimonies of the medieval walls, which stood along the borders of the city of Palermo. The architecture of the door probably dates from the thirteenth century. Its name derives from the proximity to the Church of St. Agatha, located in Via del Vespro. Few traces remain of the fresco depicting the Madonna del Carmine, painted on the vault, and figures of angels who were in the lunettes. According to legend, the Normans came through this door to win the Arab city during the siege in 1071.

Address: Via Porta Sant'Agata

Porta Mazzara

500m walking
It was opened in the Thirteenth Century and restored in 1326 Federico D'Aragona. In the Seventeenth Century it was incorporated in the bastion of Pescara and a few meters away was built Porta Montalto. When the bastion was demolished in 1885, the door came again to light. The door has three pointed arches, made of stone; the two, minor, are currently walled. On top of the door can still be seen the remains of walkways and stairs.

Address: Via dei Benedettini, 1

San Giovanni degli Eremiti

700m walking
This church was founded by Ruggero II in 1142. During the Norman domination, the annexed monastery was the richest in the city. Inside the church, now deconsecrated, you can still find traces of mosaics and frescos. Outside the building you can see the fascinating five red cupolas, a characteristic element of Arab-Norman architecture. In the garden, the luxuriant plants climb up the walls, threaten the little white columns of the cloisters.

Address: Via dei Benedettini, 16
Visiting Hours: From Monday to Saturday, from 9,00 to 18.30

Palazzo dei Normanni

900m walking
The Palazzo dei Normanni of Palermo, also known as the Royal Palace, is the seat of the Regional Assembly. The building is the oldest royal residence of Europe, residence of the kings of Sicily and imperial seat with Federico II and Corrado IV. On the first floor is the Palatine Chapel, built under the reign of Ruggero II, in 1132. The Royal Palace of the Normans rises above the first Punic settlements, traces of which are still visible in the basement. On the second floor of the building are, in addition to, the Hall of Hercules, current place of meeting of the Regional Assembly, the Yellow Room and the Hall of the Viceroy. In addition to the Palatine Chapel, is attributed to the Normans the construction of the Torre Pisana, headquarters of the room of the Treasury, on top of which stands an astronomical observatory. The room of King Ruggero, which is located within the Torre Pisana, is characterized by a mosaic decoration dating from the twelfth century. The Palatine Chapel is a three-aisled basilica dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The dome, the transept and apses are entirely decorated in the upper part of Byzantine mosaics, among the most important in Sicily, depicting Christ Pantocrator blessing, evangelists and various biblical scenes. The wooden ceiling of the nave and aisles of the other beams are decorated with carvings and paintings of Arabic style.

Address: Piazza Indipendenza, 1
Visiting Hours: From Monday to Saturday, from 8.30 to 17.00

Porta Nuova

1km walking
Made following the project of the’ s the most monumental door of the city: erected next to the Royal Palace, facing the one hand on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the other on the Corso Calatafimi. Built by the viceroy Marcantonio Colonna in 1583 to commemorate the victory of Charles V on the Turkish armed, suffered the total destruction in 1667. In 1669 was rebuilt completely and crowning the building was placed a pyramidal roof with the image of an eagle with spread wings. The Moors that decorate the first order that looks the way for Monreale celebrate the African triumph of Charles V. More measured is the interior elevation, designed in the manner of a triumphal arch, on which emerges the imposing gate of the round arch.

Address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 475

Cattedrale

1km walking
The construction of the Cathedral of Palermo began in 1184 and, over the centuries, additions and renovations have greatly altered the original structure. The western façade is very articulated in terms of prospective for the presence of two powerful arches inspired by Islamic architecture which connect the adjacent Cathedral Archbishop's Palace. The eastern façade of the Cathedral is a wonderful example of marquetry lavic decoration, or geometric shapes and floral lava stone lodged between tuff. The southern facade, instead, is decorated with a panoramic porch in Catalan Gothic style of the fifteenth century. The interior, wide and open, with three naves, looks cold in comparison with the outside grandiose.

Address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele
Visiting Hours: From Monday to Friday (March – October) from 9.00 to 17.30

From Monday to Friday (November – February) from 9.30 to 13.00

Saturday and Holidays from 7.30 to 13.30 and 16.00 to 19.00

San Giuseppe dei Teatini

900m walking
The church was built in the seventeenth century. following a baroque style that is found mainly in the frescoes, decorations and sculptures in stucco. Outside the building stands the great dome, easily visible from many parts of the city.

Address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele

Quattro Canti

900m walking
The Quattro Canti, or Piazza Vigliena, or Teatro del Sole, is the name of the octagonal square at the intersection of the two main roads of Palermo: Via Maqueda e il Cassaro, today named Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The Quattro Canti are the four architectural perspectives that define the space of the intersection. Were made between 1609 and 1620 and the four-story facade are well decorated: downstairs, fountains representing the rivers of the ancient city (Oreto, Kemonia, Pannaria, Papireto); then, an order Doric, containing the allegories of the four seasons (represented by Aeolus, Venus, Ceres and Bacchus); the next order, in the ionic style, houses the statues of Charles V, Philip II, Philip III and Philip IV; at last, in the upper tier, the four holy of Palermo, Agata, Nymph, Oliva and Cristina, patron saint of the city before the arrival of Santa Rosalia (1624).

Address: Piazza Vigliena

Piazza Pretoria

850m walking
Piazza Pretoria, also called square of Shame, because of the nudity of the statue of fountain , is just a few steps from Quattro Canti. In 1573 the Senate of Palermo bought a fountain, by Francesco Camilliani, initially intended to Florence, with the intention of placing it in the square. Three of the four sides of the square are closed by buildings: the Praetorian Palace (seat of the Town Hall) built in the fourteenth century, the Church of St. Catherine (end of the sixteenth century), and two baronial palaces: Bonocore Palace and Palace Bordonaro. The fourth side of the square with a staircase descends on Via Maqueda.

Address: Piazza Pretoria

Casa Professa

500m walking
Built in the late sixteenth century, Jesuit architect Giovanni Tristano, initially consisted of a single nave with side chapels and several large transects, but at the beginning of the seventeenth century, to make the church more grandiose, Natale Masuccio adds the two aisles in the middle. The church was dedicated in 1636. The interior blends the architectural rigor late Renaissance with the splendor of the Baroque decorations. Flowers, fruit, leaves, animals, small “putti”, inlaid marble, contribute to illuminate the interior.

Address: Piazza Casa Professa, 1

Mercato Ballarò

200m walking
Ballarò is a popular market town of Palermo, that extends from Piazza Casa Professa to the ramparts of course Tukory towards Porta Sant'Agata. Ballarò is the oldest of the city markets, animated by so-called "abbanniate", boisterous calls of vendors, with their distinctive accent, try to attract the interest of passers. Ballaro market is used mainly to the sale of fruit, vegetables, vegetables, meat and fish, exposed stalls and wooden boxes. Within the market we also sell cooked food and street food, typical cuisine of Palermo, as onions boiled or baked, panelle (fried chickpea flour), crocchè (potato croquettes), boiled vegetables, octopus and quarume (calf sweetbreads).

Address: Via Ballarò

Piazza Marina

1,2km walking
Piazza Marina is a square in the historic center of Palermo located in the district of Kalsa or the district Courts. At the center of the square is the Villa Garibaldi designed by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile in 1863. To characterize the square are also many historic buildings that surround it, including Palace Chiaramonte or Steri, Palace Galletti, Palace Fatta, Palace Dagnino, Hotel de France, Theater Libero, Palace Mirto, the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Palace Notarbartolo di Villarosa, Palace Gravina Palagonia, the Palace of the Revenue, the church of San Giovanni dei Napoletani, the church of Santa Maria della Catena, the Puppet Museum, the fountain of Garraffo.

Address: Piazza Marina

Piazza San Domenico

1,2km walking
The Piazza San Domenico is a historic square in Palermo which takes its name from the Church of San Domenico. At the center of the square is the Column of the Immaculate, consists of a large marble base topped by a tall column, on top of which is the statue of the Immaculate. The church was built in 1458 and 1480 Renaissance, while the facade was built later, in 1726. The style is typically Baroque, the pediment is characterized by two tall towers, on the facade there are also many plaster statues depicting saints and popes. These statues are the work of the grandson of Giacomo Serpotta, Giovan Maria Serpotta.

Address: Piazza San Domenico

Teatro Massimo

1,5km walking
The Teatro Massimo is the largest theater building opera in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. It was built in 1875 architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, in neoclassical style. The compositional symmetry around the axis of the entrance, the constant repetition of the elements (column, arched windows), decoration rigorously composed, define a spatial structure simple and clear a volume, harmonic and geometric, inspired by Greek and Roman. The exterior of the theater, following the fashion of the ancient architecture of discounting, presents a Corinthian portico hexastyle high on a monumental stairway to the sides of which there are two bronze lions. At the top of the building is dominated by a huge hemispherical dome.

Address: Piazza Verdi
Visiting Hours: From Monday to Sunday from 9.30 to 18.30

Politeama

1,5km walking
Politeama Theatre, built in 1865 architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda. Coverage, considered for the era of the great engineering work, was made of metal from the foundry Oretea in November 1877. The value of this construction is the exaltation of the social function of the theater as “theater of the people” with the huge hall horseshoe (in that 1874 could hold five thousand spectators) with two rows of boxes, dominated by a large gallery in two orders. The entrance is a triumphal arch surmounted by the bronze chariot of Apollo, by Mario Rutelli, accompanied which a pair of bronze horses of Benedict Civiletti.

Address: Piazza Ruggero Settimo

Chiesa del Carmine

250m walking
Made following the project of the’ architect Mariano Smiriglio, the construction began in 1627. The huge dome was added in 1680; of great interest is its coating polychrome majolica and the Baroque decoration of the drum with the four telamons that support it. The interior of the church houses different stucco of Giacomo Serpotta, wooden statues and marble decorations. There are also valuable works as the canvas with “Sant’Andrea Orsini” by Pietro Novelli, statue “Santa Caterina” by Antonello Gagini and the seventeenth-century altar by Giacomo and Giuseppe Serpotta.

Address: Piazza del Carmine
Visiting Hours: From Monday to Sunday from 8.45 to 10.45