Palermo

People often think that Palermo is a museum city (which is it!) where housework is never done. This couldn’t be further from the truth! In some neighbourhoods, you will nearly always see a screaming mother standing on a balcony of a rundown building hanging up her laundry, hordes of children running down the never-ending alleyways, and deafening traffic during rush hour.

Palermo has some of the most beautiful churches in Italy, reflecting the chain of rulers who’ve dominated the city (and its sunny bay).

The biggest Cathedral, for example, has a Catalan Gothic porch, Geminated windows, and a Baroque dome. Whereas, with its red domes, the St John of the Hermits church is more reminiscent of a mosque than a Christian building.

The jewel of the city is, undoubtedly, the Palatine Chapel. Right in the heart of the Royal Palace, this stunning chapel is sumptuously decorated with a series of mosaics, carved wood and marble.

Set against a mountainous backdrop, it’s definitely worth visiting the Benedictine cloister in the Monreal Cathedral, just 10km from Palermo. Rich and poor, Italian and Oriental, this city of a thousand faces is not one to be missed!