Why go
Walk from the older centre toward Teatro Massimo and Viale della Libertà to see the city’s late nineteenth and early twentieth century growth. Art Nouveau buildings and the theatre speak to that era; gaps and rebuilding near the port point toward the damage of 1943.
The full story
Palermo joined the new Kingdom of Italy after Garibaldi’s campaign in 1860, but political unrest continued. A rebellion in 1866 showed that unification had not settled the island’s relationship with the new state. In the following decades, prominent Palermo families helped shape industry and culture as the city pushed beyond its old walls. New boulevards to the north, including Via Roma, Via Dante and Viale della Libertà, carried villas and buildings in the Art Nouveau style. Ernesto Basile’s work became closely associated with this phase; Teatro Massimo belongs to the same era of civic ambition. The Second World War brought heavy bombing to the harbour and surrounding quarters in 1943. After the war, Palermo became the seat of Sicily’s regional parliament in the Palazzo dei Normanni. Rapid later growth, often described through the “Sack of Palermo,” added poorly planned construction. Today these layers explain why the city shifts so sharply from older streets to grand boulevards and postwar districts.
Useful to know
- Compare the historic core with the boulevards around Teatro Massimo and northward.
- Look at the port-side streets with the 1943 bombing in mind.