the history of palermo

a brief history

Palermo is with no doubt the most important city in Sicily. Looking at the history of this city, it is possible to understand the history of the entire island from the Roman Empire onward.
The ancient history of Palermo is instead separated from the rest of Sicily, especially from the East. Palermo from at least the V century before Christ was a Phoenician colony and one of the most important Phoenician port. During this time the city, and the entire Western area of Sicily (including Erice, Segesta, Mazara) was in conflict with the Greek part, lead by Siracusa. Most of the archeological sights in Palermo that can be visited today (like the Necropolis under the Caserma Turkoy) come from this period.
But the Greeks never conquered Palermo, the Romans did, at the end of the first war against the Carthaginians. The Roman period lasted from the III century before Christ until the V century after Christ, when the Vandals and the Ostrogoth occupied the Western Roman Empire (Rome) and hence Sicily. They were barbarians from Eastern Europe and didn't bring much richness to the city, like the Byzantines did, when in the VI century fought the barbarians away from Italy, and from Palermo, making the city part of the Eastern Roman Empire.
During the IX century the Arabs started the occupation of Sicily and occupied Palermo. During the Arab occupation the city flourished economically and socially. Many infrastructures were built that helped the city, like underground water canals and a bigger port and from this time on, Palermo became the most important city in the Island. The Arabs also managed to create a multi-cultural society, where Christians, Jewish people and Byzantines could live together, as long as a tax was paid to the Islamic rulers. Many mosques were built during this period, which can still be seen today from their red domes.

Once the Arabic ruling became weaker due to internal conflicts, in the XI century, the Normans arrived from the North (from Northern France) and occupied the entire island and Palermo. The Normans made Palermo their principal city, converted many mosques into churches and continued the multi-cultural society established by the Arabs. So much so that Arabic and Norman-Christian culture became very much mixed together in what today is called Norman-Arabic culture, which can especially be seen in the architecture, but also in the arts and science of that period. While the Norman period didn't last very long, it had a very strong impact on Palermo and the entire Sicily and was followed by the German domination, with the famous king Frederic II of the Hohenstaufen family, thanks to whom the arts, specially poetry, flourished in the city. Following some military defeats, the Germans had to leave Sicily to the French rulers, who treated the people so badly that in the XIII century a revolt started in Palermo that kicked them away (Rivolta dei Vespri Siciliani) and the Sicilian people called the heir of the last Norman king, who happen to be a Spanish king, to rule the island.

The Spanish rule of Palermo lasted until the XIX century, when Italy was unified into a single country and the Spanish were kicked out in 1860s. Nevertheless the Sicilian people still fought very hard to keep their independence against the central government. Palermo was still one of the richest cities in Italy until the first and second World War, when it was almost completely destroyed by the American and German bombing. From that time, the city never really recovered, was under the strong influence of mafia families and had very difficult social issues.
Today tourism represent a very big economic sector, thanks to the very rich historical and cultural background.