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READ EVERTYHING ABOUT PALERMO AND ITS PROVINCE
PALERMO
Palermo for its treasure can be considered a real open art-gallery. The city and all the district offer much to the tourist, from the cultural and historical background on numberless monuments and churches at the center of a large gulf, overlooked by Pellegrino mount (597 mt), around which during the centuries are born numerous quarters, it is surrounded by the sea and by a hill chain, Palermo is extended in the level land that from Sixteenth century has been called Conca doro ( golden basin), rich of streams and citrus.Monreale. The birth of the town dates back to the Middle Ages. To see: the Norman Duomo with Sicilian-Venetian mosaic works and the Benedictine cloister.
Palermo today counts other monuments dating back to the Norman age: near the Norman Palace, that has become the seat of the Sicilian Parliament, it is located the Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti; also the Church of Martorana, with a rich decoration with mosaic, the Church of S. Giovanni dei Lebbrosi and the Ammiraglio bridge. The Magione Church was built between 1130 and 1170, is also known as Trinit Church, and San Cataldo church, which is Norman construction of 1160. Several palaces go back to the Norman period : the Zisa, the Cuba, Maredolce castle. The most important theaters of the city were built in the Nineteenth century: Massimo theater and Politeama theater.
Typical of the area is the strong smell of fish and the noise of the abbanniate (shouts in Sicilian) of the storekeepers, in the typical Palermo market called la vucciria.
Pellegrino mount is very interesting, it is isolated from the mountain chain that surrounds Palermo, as a protection of the city.
In addition, the small temple is dug into the rock of which it is possible to see the faade of Santa Rosalia Sanctuary, built in the cave where the saint lived and died during her hermitage, she is the emblem of the Christianity of Palermo.
MONREALE
The complex that includes the Duomo, the Royal Palace and the monastery, is a very beautiful masterpiece of the Norman architecture.
The Duomo rises in the central square Vittorio Emanuele, the faade is inserted between two squared towers and it is preceded by an eighteenth century porch with three arches on Doric columns; below there is a superb portal decorated with spiral carvings and with mosaic strips.
The entrance opens below the porch of the left side; the inner is made with three aisles divided by columns with capitals with clypeus of gods among horns of plenty, that support the Arabian pointed arches. The floor, finished in the sixteenth century, is constituted by porphyry and granite discs.
The golden mosaics are very interesting, they decorate a surface of about 6340 sqm, the walls of the aisles, the apses and the Sanctuary. These works had been made between the twelfth and the thirteenth century, they represent the cycle of the Old and the New Testament, with legends in Latin and Greek language. At the right of Duomo there is the entrance to the cloister of the old Benedictine monastery, built during the domination of William the Second.
USTICA
An interesting destination of the Island is the famous aquarium, which it hosts the same submarine environment of the Reserve. Inside the aquarium there are some fishponds that reproduce the specific sites of the environment near the coasts, some of the Pelagico environment and some other of the deep one. We can also find species of fish or water animals like for example a grouper, caught in 1993, or a lobster crab still of the same period, both grown in this environment perfectly rebuilt.
Ustica is a dream island, relax, nature and sea.
CEFALU'
The municipality of Cefal belongs to the province of Palermo, in Sicily, it is famous tourist place laid down at the slopes of a beautiful promontory. The territory of Cefal offers a blooming nature, made of a unique and enchanting landscape.
Cefal belongs to Madonie Park, which is a naturalistic and artistic heritage of the province of Palermo, constituted in 1989.
Another interesting place to see, even if hard of reach, is Cefal rock, which it offers a wonderful view on the town; besides the remains of the fortification, here it is erected Diana temple, a polygonal work of old Greek time.
MONDELLO / SFERRACAVALLO
Mondello is an elegant resort place, at 11 km from Palermo. The Capo Gallo Reserve is promontory of karstic origin that is located at north west of Palermo among the marina villages of Mondello and Sferracavallo.
Sferracavallo is lined with Billiemi mounts and S. Margherita peak, it is leaned towards Tyrrhenian sea: it is a marina and tourist village, very old, even if its origins are not datable with accuracy.
From the news of the historical archives, the village seems that has been populated since the prehistoric age by hunter tribes and roots pickers, that lived in its numerous caves to defend themselves from the assailants, they lived with a big variety of animals, source of nutrition. During some archeological excavations have been discovered numerous materials datable to Superior Paleolithic (14.000-12.000 years ago). It is famous for its restaurants, an excellent place where to taste fresh fish diner.
PIANA DEGLI ALBANESI
By visiting Piana degli Albanesi you can notice its irregular plan, crossed by the rectilinear board of Corso Giorgio Kastriota, reachable by crossing the town.
You will see the oldest church of the town, that of San Giorgio, changed in 1759, with statues and paintings preserved inside.
We will also see San Demetrio church, Mother Church of Greek rite, built in 1590 with fresco paintings by Pietro Novelli and the anthropological museum with Albanian costumes and traditional objects, located to n. 23 of Corso Kastriota.
At south of the built-up area, at about 600 mt from the sea, there is the Piana degli Albanesi lake, the oldest invaded artificial of Sicily, built in 1923, used for the production of electric energy, for potable use and irrigation of Palermo and of the Golden basin.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo
SEE THE REAL ESTATES OF PALERMO AND ITS PROVINCE
