Trapaini
Palermo, one of Italy’s great art cities, is an exotic mixture of the many cultures reflecting it’s history of being under numerous dominators over the centuries. Among it’s many architectural highlights are the Norman cathedral, and on a more urban note, ‘La Vucciria’ (meaning ‘hubbub’ or ‘voices’ in Sicilian dialect) Palermo’s famous and lively food and fish market, is a must see. As Sicily's largest city, Palermo offers great dining as well as excellent shopping and entertainment, including the opera at the Palermo’s famous Teatro Massimo. Palermo is still an exotic mixture of many cultures and the diversity of architectural styles reflects the cultural exchange that for millennia has taken place in the area.  Many of the monuments still exist giving the city somewhat unique appearance.  You can find Roman, Carthaginian, Byzantine, Greek, Arab, Norman, Swabian and Spanish architecture and art.


Market
The best, most famous market in Palermo is La Vucciria. In Sicilian dialect, vucciria means "hubbub" or "voices," and that's what you'll hear here. The market spills onto the narrow side streets of Piazza San Domenico, off Via Roma between Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the San Domenico church. This is one of Europe's great Kasbah-like markets, with mountains of food ranging from fresh swordfish steaks to all sorts of meat and recently harvested produce, reflecting the bounty of the Sicilian countryside. The array of such items as wild fennel, long-stemmed artichokes, blood oranges, and giant octopus will astound you. This market trades Monday through Saturday until 2pm. Try to go before 10am, when it's at its most frenetic and colourful. The markets described below keep roughly the same hours.

Monreale
One of Europe’s most premier attractions, the dazzling Cathedral at Monreale (just north of Palermo) should not be missed by any account.  This sumptuous 12th century cathedral combines elements of Norman, Arabic and Byzantine, framed by traditional Romanesque architecture and remains substantially intact.  Upon entering you will find yourself awestruck at the walls covered with stupendous mosaics, depicting episodes from the Bible, the Creation, the Prophets and the advent of Jesus, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.  Their splendid and delicate beauty creates an atmosphere of indescribable tranquillity, solemnity and awe.  The beautiful mosaics in Monreale Cathedral are said to be one of the world's largest displays of this art, surpassed only by Istanbul's famous Basilica of Saint Sofia. Located next to the cathedral, the splendid cloister of the Benedictine abbey alone would make Monreale famous. The cloister’s gardens are enclosed by 228 columns of white marble, each with a unique and meticulously stone carved capital, depicting scenes from the Bible, lives of the Saints, Norman knights in action, gargoyles, and floral motifs.  The crowning glory of the cloister is the Arabic fountain in the southwest corner. The fountain is almost a mini-cloister within the cloister, surrounded by its own four-sided colonnade. Monreale, which is actually on the edge of the city of Palermo, can easily be reached by car or by bus departing from Piazza Indipendenza in Palermo; it takes about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on traffic, to arrive at Monreale. We suggest participating in a guided excursion as there are so many interesting details and stories to hear about the Cathedral that is well worth paying for and makes your visit even more special and unforgettable.

Bagheria Well situated between the fertile grounds of the inland and the Tyrrhenean costs the Palermo nobility chose Bagheria for building their private retreats in the 17th century. Huge Villas of Sicilian Baroc style, surrounded by agricultural lands, parks and gardens. A few of these villas are still visible, like the famous Villa Palagonia.
But actually the city is quite declined and it’s hard to find the traces of the bravura it once had.