Italian Capital of Culture 2018, home to Manifesta 2018, the European Nomadic Biennial of Contemporary Art, Palermo is a city that in recent decades has impressively changed its face.
This welcoming and vibrant city has transformed itself into a truly cosmopolitan and thriving capital where you can breathe joy of living, liveliness and culture.
An Italian language course in Palermo will give you the opportunity to discover and experience this fascinating multi-faceted city, truly melting pot of cultures at the border of Europe.
Palermo in history
Chosen by the Arabs as the capital of the island before the year 1000, Palermo is a city steeped in history, with monuments of different ages, the legacy of the peoples who took turns in his government.
The Normans built the eclectic cathedral and the most original achievement of the Arabo-Norman Art, the Palatine Chapel, set as the most shining of jewels among the ancient walls of the Royal Palace.
The little chapel was described by Oscar Wilde it as ” the wonder of all wonders … In the Cappella Palatina, which from pavement to domed ceilings is all gold, one really feels as if one was sitting in the heart of a great honeycomb looking at angels singing”.
The long Spanish domination has coloured the streets of the town centre with the honey tones of the facades of the magnificent palaces and captivated the eyes with the marvellous marbles of the baroque churches.
The Bourbons have shown the most bizarre side in the oriental extravagances of the Chinese Palace. At the end of the nineteenth century, when the city welcomed crowned heads from all over Europe, the refined Art Nouveau buildings arose.
