Begin your Sicilian odyssey in its capital city - Palermo. Cefalu Car Hire Spectacularly situated along a wide sweep of bay at the foot of Monte Pellegrino, Palermo was the wealthiest and most magnificent city in Europe in the 12th century. Camping and Caravan sites in Sant Agata Militello Today Palermo has an air of faded grandeur and an unrivalled display of Norman art and architecture and Baroque churches. Cefalu Car Hire. Stroll along the Via Roma and Via Maqueda in the heart of the old town and get a sense of what Palermo is all about. Cheap accommodation in Panarea Don’t miss the magnificent 12th century Norman cathedral at Monreale, 8 kilometres southwest of the city. Segesta Accomodation The inside of the cathedral is covered in breathtakingly glittering mosaics.  

For touring the island can be roughly divided into the north-shore and south-shore areas. Sciacca apartments The north shore has reefs, olive groves, secluded coves and countless seaside resorts including Cefalu, a gorgeous Arab-Norman city with good beaches. Cefalu Car Hire. West of center of the north coast is Palermo the ancient capital and the island’s largest city. Be sure to visit the central market and 12th-century Monreale Cathedral which is 6 mi/8 km west of town (it has impressive biblical mosaics). Places of interest in Cefalu About 50 mi/80 km west of Palermo lies the ancient village of Erice atop a mountain: It still has remains of a temple dedicated to Venus. Cefalu Car Hire. The southern coast has an even milder climate so there’s swimming most of the year (although it can get cold there between November and March). Calendar of events in Solunto

Palermo was founded by Phoenicians who sailed there from their native Carthage. Places of interest in Giardini Naxos The Greeks colonized the whole island, leaving some of the most beautiful and best-preserved temples they ever built at Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta. Cefalu Car Hire. Around those glorious sites they planted Sicily's first olive trees and grape vines. Cheap hostels in Piazza Armerina Traces of the Roman period in Sicily can be found in the amphitheatres at Taormina and Siracusa, as well as in that city's Christian catacombs. But perhaps Rome's most lasting (and infamous) contribution to the island came in fostering the great land ownerships which eventually impoverished the peasantry and led, many centuries later, to the founding of secret societies aimed at destroying the fabulously wealthy landlords. Cefalu Car Hire. In Palermo, these groups were known as mafia. Sciacca Accomodation

Cefalu Car Hire