Covered in orange groves, Palermo is the capital of Sicily. Situated in the northern part of the island, it is also the biggest city in Sicily with one of the best harbours in the world. The city is divided into the Old City and the New City. Getting around the city even with a map in hand is sometimes difficult especially in the city center. The tourist office sells maps that are new and up-to-date. Just ensure that your map has a street index.

Much of the layout of the Old City dates back to the Middle Ages making navigating through it a difficult task. Two main roads divide this part of the city into quarters. Historically, the medieval quarters of Palermo were rigidly defined. You were born into one of the city quarters, you grew up there, married, had children, and died there. What you didn't do was intermarry with a man or woman from another quarter. When this was done, it met with social ostracism. The quarters were self-contained with markets, shops and even had its own dialect.

Luckily these boundaries have faded away today. A traveler to Palermo has to be cautious while visiting La Kalsa, a quarter created by the Saracens. This district is more North African than Italian. Kalsa is derived from the Arabic word Khalisa meaning pure. But for many years this district was anything but pure. It was considered very dangerous after dark but thanks to the importance paid to tourism and the opening of several bars and restaurants this district is getting a new lease of life.

History

The Phoenicians were the first settlers in this region. The came here in the 7th century B.C and named it Ziz, meaning flower. The Arabs came here in the 9th century and it soon became the important Islamic city in the Western world. The Normans conquered the region in the 11th century. The city and its people imbibed the Norman culture along with the Islamic culture and brought about a new Arabo-Norman culture. In the subsequent centuries the city became a melting pot for many peoples and many cultures, making its cultural heritage rich and extremely important. Among the later conquerors are the Swabians, the Angevins, the Spaniards and the Bourbons.

A period of decline followed in the 20th century with the city being taken over by the Mafia. The Allied forces pounded the region with bombs in 1943. Just when the city started re-emerging a massive earthquake in 1968 ravaged the region. A major part of the medieval quarter was lost in the 20th century. A lot of attention is being paid towards restoring the treasures of the city’s global era.