Palermo

Palermo’s origins go back to the period between the 8th and the century B.C. when the Phoenicians colonized the area previously inhabited by others.
In 254 B.C. it was placed under Roman rule but after various barbaric populations the city became part of the Byzantine Empire until 831.

The Arabs took over from the Byzantine and during this period Palermo enjoyed a period of splendor and prosperity. The Arab culture greatly influence are and economics and Palermo increased its prestige by building mosques, luxurious palaces and wonderful garden.

The Arabs ruled until 1072 when the Normans succeeded in gaining possession of the city. With the Normans a new era began; the population spread out throughout the island and Palermo became the crossroad of cultures.

When Federico II ruled Sicily, after the Norman rule, art and literature were developed even further which brought about the foundation of a Sicilian School of Poets. But Sicily lost all its autonomy when Charles of Anjou, King of France, ruled the city which led to the war of the Sicilian Vespers of 1282.
Under Spanish domain (1400-1799) Palermo saw a peaceful period. Many new buildings and monuments were renewed and many churches and convents were set up.

But while it was a period of pomp and opulence for the clergy and aristocracy it was also a period of pervert and pestilence for the people.
Spain lost Palermo and Sicily for a short period but regained it in 1735 when it became the autonomous state of the Kingdom of Naples.

It was the Bourbon Royal family (in Naples) who decreed that this autonomy should be taken back, so in 1820 and 1848 the Sicilians rebelled and finally, in 1860, Palermo won its freedom when Garibaldi and “the thousand” (his army) landed in Marsala and Palermo won its freedom. Sicily then annexed itself to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870.