Why go
This chapter helps explain Palermo’s uneasy place in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies before Garibaldi arrived. It is useful context for the city’s palaces and civic spaces, especially if you want to understand why unification followed decades of unrest.
The full story
Sicily returned to Bourbon rule in the eighteenth century. Charles III was crowned in Palermo, but the royal court’s usual base was Naples, leaving Palermo with a different role from its earlier years as a kingdom’s centre. Ferdinand took refuge in the city during the upheavals after the French Revolution. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies joined Sicily and the southern mainland under one crown, with Naples holding the stronger political position. Palermo’s dissatisfaction surfaced in repeated uprisings. On 12 January 1848, a revolt led by Giuseppe La Masa helped open a year of revolution across Europe. A Sicilian parliament and constitution followed, with Ruggero Settimo as a leading figure. Bourbon forces retook Palermo in 1849. The dynasty’s rule ended when Garibaldi entered the city in 1860, setting up the transition to the Kingdom of Italy. For a visitor, this period connects royal spaces with the civic unrest that reshaped the city’s political identity.
Useful to know
- Read this history before visiting the Palazzo dei Normanni and the old civic centre.
- Pair it with the unification guide for the events after 1860.