The earliest existing buildings in Palermo date from the time of the Norman kings, whose palaces and churches were built in the Saracenic and Byzantine styles prevalent in the island. The metro politan church was built by Archbishop Walter of the Mill—an Englishman sent by Henry II. of England as tutor to William II. of Sicily—and consecrated in '185, on the site of an older basilica (9th century or earlier), which on the Saracen conquest became a mosque, and on the Norman conquest became a church again, first of the Greek and then of the Latin rite. What remains of Walter's building is a rich example of the Christian-Saracen style, disfigured by the addition of a totally unsuitable dome by Ferdinando Fuga in 178i-18o'. This church contains the tombs of the emperor Fred erick II. and his parents—massive sarcophagi of red porphyry with canopies above them. But far the best example of the style is the chapel of the king's palace (Cappella Palatina), at the west end of the city. This is the work of King Roger (1132-4o). The wonderful mosaics, the wooden roof in Arab style, elabo rately fretted and painted, and the marble incrustation of the lower part of the walls and the floor are very fine. Other con temporary mosaics with hunting scenes are in a hall in the palace.
Alongside of the churches of this Christian-Saracen type, there is another class which follows the Byzantine type, e.g., the very small church of San Cataldo, and the adjoining church of La Martorana, the work of George of Antioch, King Roger's ad miral (1143). This is rich with mosaics, among them the por traits of the king and the founder. Both these and the Cappella Palatina have several small cupolas, as has the church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, with a bell-tower, and a picturesque cloister.
The series of Christian-Saracen buildings is continued in the country houses of the kings which surround the city, La Favara and Mimnermo, the works of Roger, and the better known Ziza and Cuba, the works severally of William the Bad and William the Good. The Saracenic architecture and Arabic inscriptions of these buildings have often caused them to be taken for works of the ancient amirs; but the inscriptions of themselves prove their date. All these buildings are the genuine work of Sicilian art, the art which had grown up in the island through the presence of the two most civilized races of the age, the Greek and the Saracen. Later in the 12th century the Cistercians brought in a type of church, which, without any great change of mere style, has a very different effect, a high choir taking in some sort the place of the cupola. The greatest example of this is the neighbouring metropolitan church of Monreale (q.v.) ; more closely connected with Palermo is the church of Santo Spirito, outside the city on the south side, the scene of the Vespers.
Domestic and civil buildings from the 12th century to the 15th abound in Palermo, and they present several types of genuine national art. Of palaces the finest is perhaps the massive Palazzo Chiaramonte, now used as the courts of justice, begun in 1307. One of the halls has interesting paintings of 1377-1380 on its wooden ceiling ; and in the upper storey of the court is a splendid three-light Gothic window. The later houses employ a very flat arch, the use of which goes on in the Renaissance. S. Maria della
Catena may be taken as an example. The most striking point in the city is the central space at the crossing of the main streets, called the Quattro Cantoni, or four corners. Two of the four are formed by the Via Vittorio Emmanuele, but the Via Maqueda, which sup plies the other two, was cut through a mass of small streets in Spanish times.
Of the city gates only two remain, the Porta Nuova and the Porta Felice ; both are fine examples of the baroque style ; the former was erected in 1584 to commemorate the return of Charles V. fifty years earlier, the latter in 1582. There are also numerous baroque churches, many of them adorned with stuccoes by Ser potta. Outside the walls new quarters have sprung up of recent years, especially on the north beyond the Teatro Massimo and the Politeama Garibaldi; the former (begun by G. B. Basile and com pleted by his son in 1897) is the largest in Italy.
The museum of Palermo is the richest in the island. Among the most important are the objects from prehistoric tombs and the architectural fragments from Selinus, including several me topes with reliefs, which are of great importance as illustrating the development of Greek sculpture. The collection of Greek vases and terra-cottas is also important. The bronzes are few, but include the famous ram from Syracuse. There are also the Casuccini collections of Etruscan sarcophagi, sepulchral urns and pottery. From Palermo itself come Latin inscriptions of the im perial period, and two large coloured mosaics with figures found in the Piazza Vittoria in front of the royal palace, belonging to a large Roman private house, the remains of which are still visible. Of greater local interest are the mediaeval and Renaissance sculp tures from Palermo itself, a large picture gallery, and an exten sive collection of Sicilian majolica, etc.
The university, founded in 1779, had 1,886 students in 1925-6. There is also an interesting ethnographical museum. The city wears a prosperous and busy appearance. The Marina, or es planade at the south of the town, affords a fine sea front with a view of the bay; near it are beautiful public gardens. But as a whole, Palermo turns its back on the sea, and makes surprisingly little use of it. Near the city on the south are the oldest church in or near Palermo, S. Giovanni dei Lebbrosi (the Lepers), founded by Roger I. (1072) and the bridge over the forsaken stream of the Oreto, built by the admiral George ( 1113). On the other side, towards Monte Pellegrino, is the new harbour of Palermo, round which a new quarter has sprung up, including a yard capable of building ships up to 475 ft. in length, and a dry dock for vessels up to 563 ft. The harbour is in process of enlargement and im provement, and a new breakwater is being built in front of the entrance. In 1926 3,602 steamships and 5,113 sailing ships of a total tonnage of 5,911,507 entered and cleared the port, 210,775 passengers and 848,222 tons of merchandise being dealt with.
The plain of Palermo is very fertile, and well watered by springs and streams, of the latter of which the Oreto is the chief. It is planted with orange and lemon groves, the products of which are largely exported, and with many palm-trees, the fruit of which, however, does not attain maturity. It also contains many villas.