Palermo Walking Tour - Baroque and Aristocracy

Meeting at the Quattro Canti or Teatro del Sole, an elegant Baroque building.

From the Quattro Canti you will travel the ancient axis of the city to reach and visit the Palazzo Alliata di Villafranca, one of the richest residences of the Palermitan aristocracy which among its admirably restored halls preserves a beautiful Crucified Christ by Van Dick.

The famous Pretoria or "della Vergogna" fountain will be the backdrop for popular stories.

In Piazza Bellini you will admire the 12th century domes of San Cataldo. of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher.

A particularly interesting visit will follow, the Church of Santa Caterina recently returned to the city but for centuries reserved only to the young cloistered nuns, girls of the highest foreclosed aristocracy who lived among lapis lazuli altars and precious stones in contrast with the Baroque and Spanish society of Palermo.

Step to the small square decorated by the splendid Gothic rose window of the church of San Francesco d'Assisi.

You will discover the richest and darkest centuries of Spanish Sicily by reaching Piazza Marina to admire a centuries-old ficus magnolioides of the Garibaldi Garden, once a place reserved for the Condemnations and Tortures of the Holy Inquisition

The walk will end between traditional ice cream and cannoli in the neighborhood of the old port La Cala.