West Palermo is a district of the city of Palermo.
To know
How to orient yourself
West Palermo: full screen map.Neighborhoods
- Altarello
- Boccadifalco
- New village
- Cruillas-Saint John the Apostle
- Cuba-Calatafimi
- Mezzomonreale-Villatasca
- Montegrappa-Santa Rosalia
- wot
- Resuttana-San Lorenzo
- Auditor-Pass of Rigano
- Zisa
Fractions
- Baida
- Boccadifalco
How to get
How to get around
By tram
- 1 Auditor Park, Viale Leonardo da Vinci. Tram 2 is 3
- 2 Fra Angelico, Viale Leonardo da Vinci. Tram 2 is 3
- 3 Ruggeri, Viale Leonardo da Vinci. Tram 2 is 3
- 4 Casalini, Viale Leonardo da Vinci. Tram 2 is 3
- 5 Campo Ribolla, Viale Leonardo da Vinci. Tram 2 is 3
- 6 Michelangelo - Castellana, Viale Leonardo da Vinci. Tram 2 is 3
- 7 Modica, via Modica. Tram 2
- 8 Piazza Santa Cristina, via Modica. Tram 2
- 9 Piazza Amerina / San Paolo, avenue Piazza Armerina (terminus). Tram 2
- 10 Michelangelo, viale Michelangelo. Tram 3
- 11 CEP, via Filippo Paladini (terminus). Tram 3
- 12 Einstein, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 13 By Giorgi - Di Blasi, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 14 Settembrini - Di Blasi, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 15 Perpignan east / west, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 16 East / West Emir, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 17 Hatch - Zisa, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 18 Pitré east / west, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 19 Pagano - The Loggia, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 20 Get out, Viale Regione Siciliana. Tram 4
- 21 Pollaci - Calatafimi, Viale Regione Siciliana (terminus). Tram 4
What see
Villino Florio
- 1 Villino Florio, Viale Regina Margherita, 38 (Near the Zisa castle), ☎ 39 091 702 5471.
Free. 
Tue-Sun 9: 00-13: 00. Built in Art Nouveau style between 1899 and 1902 by the architect Ernesto Basile for the Florio family. The interior features valuable curved solutions in the decorations and in the eclecticism of the forms. In 1962, following an arson, the ground floor was destroyed and the original decorations were lost. Today the villa can be visited but the interiors are devoid of original furniture and many parts are reconstructed, giving an idea of its ancient splendor. 
Free. 
Tue-Sun 9: 00-13: 00. Built in Art Nouveau style between 1899 and 1902 by the architect Ernesto Basile for the Florio family. The interior features valuable curved solutions in the decorations and in the eclecticism of the forms. In 1962, following an arson, the ground floor was destroyed and the original decorations were lost. Today the villa can be visited but the interiors are devoid of original furniture and many parts are reconstructed, giving an idea of its ancient splendor.
Favorita Park
- 2 Favorita Park (Real estate of the Favorita), Viale Ercole. It is the largest city park in the city and is located within the Monte Pellegrino oriented nature reserve. The park was created in 1799 by Ferdinand III of Bourbon as an agricultural place and as a hunting reserve. Inside, you can go through various routes on foot or by bicycle.
- 3 High Jesuit Qanat, Micciulla Fund, 25 (From the central station free shuttle or bus 109 to the Piazza Indipendenza stop, change bus 309 or 389 to the Calatafimi-De Filippo stop. Continue on foot along via Titina De Filippo up to via Nave. From Politeama bus 104 or 108 to the Piazza Indipendenza stop, change bus 309 or 389 to the Calatafimi-De Filippo stop. Continue on foot along via Titina De Filippo up to via Nave), ☎ 39 3498478288, 39 091329407. 10 € (Dec 2020). by reservation, Mon-Fri 19:00 onwards. The Qanat is a water transport system of Persian origin. Along the entire tunnel, generally 1.55 meters high and 0.60-0.80 meters wide, wells open onto the vault that allowed access to the tunnel and for ventilation. The slope of these tunnels varies between 4 and 6 per thousand, it is visible for about 1100 meters. The Qanat was partially enlarged by the Jesuits who were the owners of the overlying estates.
The Zisa
Main hall niche with fountain and Muqarnas.
4 Zisa Castle (Museum of Islamic Art), Zisa square (From the central station bus 124 to the L'Emiro-Guerrazzi stop. From Politeama bus 124 to the L'Emiro-Guerrazzi stop or bus 106 to the Piazza Principe di Camporeale stop.). Full € 6, reduced € 3 (Dec 2020). Tue-Sat 9: 00-19: 00, Sun and holidays 9: 00-13: 30. The Palazzo della Zisa stood outside the walls of the city of Palermo, inside the Norman royal park, the Genoardo (from the Arabic Jannat al-arḍ or "garden" or "paradise of the earth"), which extended with splendid pavilions, lush gardens and water basins from Altofonte up to the walls of the royal palace. The first news of the building dates back to 1165 it was completed in construction in 1175. In 1806, the Zisa came to the Princes Notarbartolo, who made it their residence by carrying out various consolidation works, such as compensation for injuries on the walls and themselves to contain the thrusts of the vaults. The distribution of the rooms was transformed through the construction of partitions, mezzanines, internal stairways and in 1860 the vault of the second floor was covered to build the pavilion floor obtained on the terrace. In 1955 the building was expropriated by the state, and the restoration work, which began immediately, was suspended shortly after. After fifteen years of neglect and abandonment in 1971, the right wing, structurally compromised by the works and restoration, collapsed. Only in 1991 did the building reopen in the face of a reconstruction of the collapsed parts and the creation of a museum of Islamic art.
- The palace, conceived as a summer residence of the kings, represents one of the best examples of the union of Norman art and architecture with typical environments of the Norman house (including the double cuspidated tower) and Arab decorations and engineering for the exchange of air in the rooms. It is, in fact, a building facing north-east, that is towards the sea in order to better capture through the three large archways of the facade and the large belvedere window the winds that were dampened by the passage over the large fish pond in front of the building and the presence of running water inside the Sala della Fontana which gave a great feeling of coolness.
Villa Napoli - side wall with Norman arches
Villa Napoli - facade
- 5 Villa of Naples (Villa Napoli, Cuba soprana), via Francesco Speciale, ☎ 39 0917071425. Not open to visitors. This seventeenth-century villa was built on a pre-existing Norman building. If in itself the villa is interesting for its purely Sicilian architectural style, it is even more interesting to know the oldest building. If you enter the garden (unfortunately normally closed) you have the opportunity to see the east wall which still shows the buffered arches of the ancient Norman building. This in fact was the so-called Soprana Cuba surrounded by a vast lake of water and an immense garden which also included the Cubola. The building was very similar to that of Cuba and was a hunting residence of the king who found shelter in this area of Palermo. The building is currently in neglect and has suffered theft and looting of valuable parts for years. To date, a restoration and restoration of the garden area is expected.
Cubula
- 6 Cubula (Little Cuba), Via di Villa Naples (Inside the garden of Villa Napoli. From the central station metro line A to the Palazzo Reale-Orleans stop or free shuttle or bus 109 to the Piazza Indipendenza stop. Then change to bus 389 or 309 to the Calatafimi-Marinuzzi stop. From Politeama bus 104 or 108 to the Piazza Indipendenza stop. Then change to bus 389 or 309 to the Calatafimi-Marinuzzi stop), ☎ 39 0917071425. Not open to visitors. This small building dates back to 1184 and was built by architects fatimids at the request of the king William II of Sicily as part of the garden of the soprana Cuba. It has a square plan surmounted by a circular dome and ogival arches with regular ashlars with three slightly recessed ferrules. The monument is waiting to be included in the Arab-Norman itinerary of Palermo, Cefalù and Monreale as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Cuba Castle
- 7 Palace of Cuba (Cuba castle, Cuba petticoat), Calatafimi Course, 100 (From the central station, metro line A to the Palazzo Reale-Orleans stop or free shuttle or bus 109 to the Piazza Indipendenza stop. Then change to bus 389 or 309 to the Calatafimi-Tukory stop), ☎ 39 0916391111, 39 091 81015, 39 091 81011, 39 091 091590299. Full 2 €, reduced 1 € (19-25 years), free under 18 years. Free admission for those belonging to the faculties of literature and philosophy, history of art and architecture with an identification card. The ticket allows the visit of the Punic Necropolis. Mon-Sat 9: 00-19: 00. Every first Sunday of the month 9: 00-13: 30. Cuba was built in 1180 for King William II. The original use was as a pavilion of delights, that is, a place where the King and his court could spend pleasant hours in the cool of the fountains and citrus gardens, resting during the day or attending parties and ceremonies in the evening. The news about the client and the date are known thanks to the epigraph placed on the attic wall of the building. The client's part was found in the 19th century by digging at the foot of Cuba:
| “[In] the name of the gracious and merciful God. Watch out here, stop and aim! You will see the egregious room of the egregious among the kings of all the earth William II Christian king. There is no castle worthy of him ... Praise be to God perennial. Keep him full and give him benefits for life. " |
- In the following centuries, the lake was drained and pavilions were built on the banks, used as a lazaret from the plague, as accommodation for a company of Burgundian mercenaries and finally property of the State in 1921. In the 1980s the restoration began. The building has a rectangular shape, in the center of each side protrude four bodies in the shape of a tower. The most protruding body was the only access to the palace from the mainland. The external walls are decorated with pointed arches and in the lower part there are some windows separated by masonry pillars. In the center of the interior you can see the remains of a splendid marble fountain, while the central hall was embellished with muqarnas. It was precisely in Cuba, among the waters and trees that surrounded it, that Boccaccio set the sixth story of the fifth day of his Decameron. It is the love story between Gian di Procida and Restituta, a beautiful girl from Ischia kidnapped by "young Cicilians" to offer it as a gift to the then king of Sicily: Frederick II of Aragon.
- It was precisely in Cuba, among the waters and trees that surrounded it, that Boccaccio set the sixth story of the fifth day of his Decameron. It is the love story between Gian di Procida and Restituta, a beautiful girl from Ischia kidnapped by "young Cicilians" to offer her as a gift to the then king of Sicily: Frederick III of Aragon.
- 8 Punic necropolis of Palermo, Calatafimi Course 100, ☎ 39 0916391111, 39 091 81015, 39 091 81011, 39 091 091590299. Free. From January 2020 open on Mondays of the first and third week, 9: 00-13: 00, by reservation. In the event of a public holiday, opening in the second and fourth week.
Holy Trinity at the Zisa
- 9 church of the Holy Trinity alla Zisa (Palatine Chapel of the Zisa), Via G. Whitaker, 42 (Next to the entrance to the Palazzo della Zisa). The building dates back to 1175 and became a private chapel commissioned by William I of Sicily, accessible via an ancient passage from the Palazzo della Zisa. The building will undergo transformations with the inclusion of a subsequent church which will make the ancient plant used as a sacristy. In the eastern part of the oldest building there is a dome that rests on an internal octagonal drum formed by the alternation of single-lancet windows and splayed niches, connected to the walls by muqarnas. In the upper part of the wall opposite the altar there are two windows where it is thought that the sovereigns looked out to attend mass.
Castello dell'Uscibene
- 10 Castello dell'Uscibene (Palazzo Scibene or Palazzo dello Scibene), Via Nave, 6 (From the port bus 107 from the Crispi-Scinà stop (valley side) to Giachery station. Then metro B to the Notarbartolo stop. From the Notarbartolo tram line station 4 up to the station Uscibene. From the central station metro line A to the Notarbartolo stop. From the Notarbartolo tram line station 4 up to the station Uscibene. From Politeama bus 102 from the Piazza Sturzo stop to the Piazza Boiardo stop. From the Notarbartolo tram line station 4 up to the station Uscibene). Not open to visitors. According to some interpretations, its construction could be dated between 1130 and 1154 in the middle of the Rugger period, but it is also possible that its construction can be delayed for a few decades. It is a place of summer solace located in the western part of the city, it was probably inhabited by some Palermo archbishops. The monument is the result of a stratified history of transformations and restorations that have affected it from the nineteenth century to today. In the center there is a fountain similar to that of the Zisa castle and is located in a cruciform room, there are also small oriental-type vaults. The building is in a total state of neglect, crushed (unfortunately) by vegetation and debris.
Roman aqueduct at the Cantieri della Zisa
- 11 Roman aqueduct at the Cantieri della Zisa. This Roman aqueduct is visible from the rear courtyard of the Cantieri della Zisa or from the roofs of the Church of the Santissima Trinità alla Zisa. In the Arab-Norman era it was used to bring water to the Palazzo della Zisa. Today it is in a state of neglect and not accessible due to the presence of fences of private land.
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Room of the sirocco bottom Micciulla
- 12 Room of the sirocco bottom Micciulla, via Micciulla (Altarello district). This sirocco chamber is carved into the rock and is therefore placed at a low level with respect to the ground. It was built at the end of the nineteenth century and here the noble classes found refreshment on hot days. Going down the steps there is an open circular environment with natural seats, here you can also see the entrance to a qanat fed by the Gabriel River. This property is located within an area of about two hectares which for many years was owned by a mafia family. In 1980 it was kidnapped by judge Giovanni Falcone and, after being confiscated, it was assigned to the scouts who recovered it from degradation.
- 13 Wirz Palace, Sacred Heart Square.
- 14 Cultural Yards of the Zisa.
- 15 Fossa della Garofala, Avenue of Sciences.
- 16 Villa Niscemi, @[email protected].
- 17 Villa Alliata of Pietratagliata, Via Serradifalco.
- 18 Garden of the Zisa.
- 19 Former Palermo-Boccadifalco Airport ("Francesco and Giuseppe Notarbartolo" airport of Palermo-Boccadifalco). Former military airport.
- 20 Church of the Madonna dei Remedi (convent of the Discalced Carmelites), Independence square.
- 21 Catacombs of the Capuchins, @[email protected].
- 22 Church of Santa Maria della Pace.
- 23 Parc d'Orléans, Corso re Ruggero (adjacent to Palazzo d'Orléans).
- 24 Villa Malfitano, Via Dante, 167, @[email protected].
- 25 Hotel of the Poor, Calatafimi Course n. 217.
- 26 Haptic Museum of Sicily.
- 27 Auditor Park.
- 28 Capuchin Cemetery, piazza Cappuccini. It was built in the mid-nineteenth century when the new sanitary provisions prohibited burials in churches and catacombs. There are numerous noble chapels and funerary monuments designed by prominent architects and sculptors such as Antonio Ugo and Domenico De Lisi. Among the illustrious personalities buried here we find: the politician Francesco Crispi, the writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and his wife, the magistrate Pietro Scaglione and the politician Pio La Torre both killed by the mafia.
What to do
Sport
- 1 Palms Stadium.
- 2 Renzo Barbera Stadium.
- 3 Hippodrome of the Favorita.
- 4 Field Lieutenant Honored, Via Giuseppe di Marco, 1.
- 5 PalaMangano.
- 6 Palasport Fondo Patti.
- 7 Municipal Olympic swimming pool of Palermo.
Shopping
- 1 CONAD supermarket, Corso Calatafimi, 194, ☎ 39 091 485136. Mon-Sat 8: 30-20: 30, Sun 8: 30-13: 30.
How to have fun
- 1 Verdura Theater, Viale del Fante 70 / B. Summer theater used during the summer for the performances of the Teatro Massimo.
- 2 Marconi Cinema Multiplex, Via Cuba, 12, ☎ 39 091 421574.
Where to eat
Moderate prices
- 1 Nino u 'ballerinu, Finocchiaro Course April 76, ☎ 39 339 695 0106. Typical Sicilian take away gastronomy, with rotisserie and bread with spleen.
- 2 Trattoria Tiracasciuni, via Colonna Rotta 7 (Porta Nuova area), ☎ 39 327 289 9742.
- 3 Patisserie Cappello, Via Colonna Rotta, 68, ☎ 39 091 489601. One of the most renowned pastry shops and bars in the city. Don't miss the Sicilian cassatas, a Palermo specialty.
Where stay
Moderate prices
- 1 Athenaeum hotel, Via Luigi Giannettino 4 (university area). Three star hotel.
Average prices
- 2 The Norman Palace Guest House, Corso Pietro Pisani, 91, ☎ 39 3914134719, @[email protected]. Elegant rooms, with private bathroom, in a modern apartment totally renovated in 2017.
- 3 301 B&B, Via Cappuccini, 301, ☎ 39 3333834626, @[email protected]. The property is located in an ancient building, dating back to the early 1800s, recently renovated.
