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PALERMO (Greek, Havopuos; Latin, Panh...

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Originally appearing in Volume V20, Page 600 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PALERMO (See also:Greek, Havopuos; Latin, Panhormus, Panormus) , a See also:city of See also:Sicily, See also:capital of a See also:province of the same name, in the See also:kingdom of See also:Italy, and the see of an See also:archbishop. Pop. (1906), See also:town 264,036, See also:commune 323,747. The city stands in the N.W. of the See also:island, on a small See also:bay looking E., the See also:coast forming the chord of a semicircle of mountains which hem in the campagna of Palermo, called the See also:Conca d'Oro. The most striking point is the See also:mountain of Hiercte, now called Pellegrino (from the grotto of See also:Santa Rosalia, a favourite See also:place of See also:pilgrimage) at the N. of this semicircle; at the S.E. is the promontory of Zaffarano, on which stood See also:Soluntum (q.v.). A See also:neolithic See also:settlement and See also:necropolis were discovered in 1897 at the See also:foot of See also:Monte Pellegrino, on the N.E. See also:side (E. Salinas in Notizie degli Scavi, 1907, 307). Palermo has been commonly thought to be an See also:original Phoenician settlement of unknown date (though its true Phoenician name is unknown), but Holm (Archivio storio siciliano, 188o, iv. 421) has suggested that the settlement was originally Greek.' There is no See also:record of any Greek colonies in that See also:part of Sicily, and Panormus certainly was Phoenician as far back as See also:history can carry us. According to See also:Thucydides (vi. 2), as the Greeks colonized the E. of the island, the Phoenicians withdrew to the N.W., and concentrated themselves at Panormus, Motye, and Soluntum. Like the other Phoenician colonies in the See also:west, Panormus came under the See also:power of See also:Carthage, and became the See also:head of the Carthaginian dominion in Sicily.

As such it became the centre of that strife between See also:

Europe and See also:Africa, between See also:Aryan and Semitic See also:man, in its later stages between Christendom and See also:Islam, which forms the See also:great See also:interest of Sicilian history. As the Semitic head of Sicily, it stands opposed to See also:Syracuse, the Greek head. Under the Carthaginian it was the head of the Semitic part of Sicily; when, under the Saracen all Sicily came under Semitic See also:rule, it was the See also:chief seat of that rule. It was thrice won for Europe, by Greek, See also:Roman and See also:Norman conquerors—in 276 B.C. by the Epirot See also:king See also:Pyrrhus, in 254 B.C. by the Roman consuls Aulus Atilius and Gnaeus See also:Cornelius Scipio, and in A.D. 1071 by See also:Robert Guiscard and his See also:brother See also:Roger, the first See also:count of Sicily. After the See also:conquest by Pyrrhus the city was soon recovered by Carthage, but this first Greek occupation was the beginning of a connexion with western See also:Greece and its islands which was revived under various forms in later times. After the Roman conquest an See also:attempt to recover the city for Carthage was made in 250 B.C., which led only to a great Roman victory (see PUNIC See also:WARS). Later, in the First Punic See also:War, Hamilcar See also:Barca was encamped for three years on Hiercte or Pellegrino, but the Roman See also:possession of the city was not disturbed. Panormus received the privileges of See also:autonomy and See also:immunity from See also:taxation. It seems probable that at the end of the See also:republic the coinage for the west of Sicily was struck here (See also:Mommsen, Rom. Munzwesen, 665). A See also:colony was sent here by See also:Augustus, and the place remained of considerable importance, though inferior to Catana.

A fortunate See also:

chance has preserved to us a large number of the See also:inscriptions set up in the See also:Forum (Mommsen, Corpus inscr. See also:lat. x. 752). The town was taken by the Vandal Genseric in A.D.440. It afterwards became a part of the See also:East-See also:Gothic dominion, and was recovered for the See also:empire by See also:Belisarius in 535. It again remained a Roman possession for exactly three See also:hundred years, till it was taken by the See also:Saracens in 835. Panormus now became the Moslem capital. In 1062 the See also:Pisan See also:fleet See also:broke through the See also:chain of the See also:harbour and carried off much spoil, which was spent on the See also:building of the great See also:church of See also:Pisa. After the Norman conquest the city remained for a See also:short See also:time in the hands of the See also:dukes of See also:Apulia. But in 1093 See also:half the city was ceded to Count Roger, and in 1122 the See also:rest was ceded to the second Roger. When he took the kingly See also:title in 1130 it became " Prima sedes, See also:corona regis, et regni caput." 1 The coins bearing the name of arc are no longer assigned to Panormus; but certain coins with the name ins (Ziz; about 410B.C.) belong to it. During the Norman reigns Palermo was the See also:main centre of Sicilian history, especially during the disturbances in the reign of See also:William the See also:Bad (1154-1166). The See also:emperor See also:Henry VI. entered Palermo in 1194, and it was the chief See also:scene of his cruelties.

In 1198 his son See also:

Frederick, afterwards emperor, was crowned there. After his See also:death Palermo was for a moment a See also:commonwealth. It passed under the dominion of See also:Charles of See also:Anjou in 1266. In the next See also:year, when the greater part of Sicily revolted on behalf of See also:Conradin, Palermo was one of the few towns which was held for Charles; but the famous See also:Vespers of 1282 put an end to the Angevin dominion. From that time Palermo shared in the many changes of the Sicilian kingdom. In 1535 Charles V. landed there on his return from See also:Tunis. The last See also:kings crowned at Palermo were See also:Victor Amadeus of See also:Savoy, in 1713, and Charles III. of See also:Bourbon, in 1735. The loss of See also:Naples by the Bourbons in 1798, and again in 1806, made Palermo once more the seat of a See also:separate Sicilian kingdom. The city See also:rose against Bourbon rule in 182o and in 1848. In 186o came the final deliverance, at the hands of See also:Garibaldi; but with it came also the yet See also:fuller loss of the position of Palermo as the capital of a kingdom of Sicily. Site.—The original city was built on a See also:tongue of See also:land between two inlets of the See also:sea. There is no doubt that the See also:present main See also:street, the Cassaro (Roman castrum, Arabic Kasr), Via Marmorea or Via See also:Toledo (Via See also:Vittorio Emmanuele), represents the See also:line of the See also:ancient town, with See also:water on each side of it.

Anotherpeninsula with one side to the open sea, See also:

meeting as it were the main city at right angles, formed in See also:Polybius's time the Neapolis, or new town, in Saracen times Khalesa, a name which still survives in that of Calsa. But the two ancient harbours have been dried up; the two peninsulas have met; the See also:long street has been extended to the present coast-line; a small inlet, called the Cala, alone represents the old haven. The city kept its ancient shape till after the time of the Norman kings. The old See also:state of things fully explains the name IIavop sos. There are not many See also:early remains in Palermo. The Phoenician and Greek antiquities in the museum do not belong to the city itself. The earliest existing buildings date from the time of the Norman kings, whose palaces and churches were built in the Saracenic and See also:Byzantine styles prevalent in the island. Of Saracen See also:works actually belonging to the time of Saracen occupation there are no whole buildings remaining, but many inscriptions and a See also:good many columns, often inscribed with passages from the See also:Koran, which have been used up again in later buildings, specially in the See also:porch of the See also:metropolitan church, This last was built by Archbishop See also:Walter (ft. 1170)— an See also:English-man sent by Henry II. of See also:England as See also:tutor to William II. of Sicily—and consecrated in 1185, on the site of an ancient See also:basilica, which on the Saracen conquest became a See also:mosque, and on the Norman conquest became a church again, first of the Greek and then of the Latin rite. What remains of Walter's building is a See also:rich example of the See also:Christian-Saracen See also:style, disfigured, unfortunately, by the addition of a totally unsuitable See also:dome by Ferinando Fuga in 1781-1801. This church contains the tombs of the emperor Frederick II. and his parents--massive sarcophagi of red See also:porphyry with canopies above them—and also the royal See also:throne, higher than that of the archbishop: for the king of Sicily, as hereditary See also:legate of the see of See also:Rome, was the higher ecclesiastical officer of the two. But far the best example of the style is the See also:chapel of the king's See also:palace (cappella palatina), at the west end of the city.

This is earlier than Walter's church, being the See also:

work of King Roger in 1143. The wonderful mosaics, the wooden roof, elaborately fretted and painted, and the See also:marble incrustation of the See also:lower part of the walls and the See also:floor are very See also:fine. Of the palace itself the greater part was rebuilt and added in See also:Spanish times, but there are some other parts of Roger's work See also:left, specially the See also:hall called See also:Sala Normanna. Alongside of the churches of this Christian-Saracen type, there is another class which follows the Byzantine type. Of these the most perfect is the very small church of See also:San Cataldo. But the best, much altered, but now largely restored to its former state, is the adjoining church of La Martorana, the work of See also:George of See also:Antioch, King Roger's See also:admiral. This is rich with mosaics, among them the portraits of the king and the founder. Both these and the royal chapel have several small cupolas, and there is a still greater display in that way in the church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, which it is hard to believe never was a mosque. It is the only church in Palermo with a See also:bell-See also:tower, itself crowned with a See also:cupola. Most of these buildings are witnesses in different ways to the See also:peculiar position of Palermo in the 12th See also:century as the " city of the threefold tongue," Greek, Arabic, and Latin. King Roger's See also:sun See also:dial in the palace is commemorated in all three, and it is to be noticed that the three inscriptions do not translate one another. In private inscriptions a See also:fourth tongue, the See also:Hebrew, is also often found.

For in Palermo under the Norman kings Christians of both See also:

rites, Mahommedans and See also:Jews were all allowed to flourish after their several fashions. In Saracen times there was a See also:Slavonic See also:quarter on the See also:southern side of the city, and there is still a colony of See also:United Greeks, or more strictly Albanians. The See also:series of Christian-Saracen buildings is continued in the See also:country houses of the kings which surround the city, La See also:Favara and Mimnerno, the works of Roger, and the better known Ziza and See also:Cuba, the works severally of William the Bad and William the Good. The Saracenic See also:architecture and Arabic inscriptions of these buildings have often caused them to be taken for works of the ancient ameers; but the inscriptions of 1. Museum 7. Palazzo Chiaramonte 2. See also:Cathedral 8. S.Maria della Catena 3. PalazzoReale 9. Quattro Cantoni 4. La Martorana 10. Politeama Garibaldi 5.

San Cataldo 11. Teatro See also:

Massimo 6. San Giovanni 12. University degli Eremiti 13. Piazza See also:Vittoria See also:Emery Walket Sc. themselves prove their date. All these buildings are the genuine work of Sicilian See also:art, the art which had grown up in the island through the presence of the two most civilized races of the See also:age, the Greek and the Saracen. Later in the 12th century the See also:Cistercians brought in a type of church which, without any great See also:change of See also:mere style, has a very different effect, a high See also:choir taking in some sort the place of the cupola. The greatest example of this is the neighbouring metropolitan church of See also:Monreale (q.v.); more closely connected with Palermo is the church of San Spirito, outside the city on the See also:south side, the scene of the Vespers. Domestic and See also:civil buildings from the 12th century to the 15th abound in Palermo, and they present several types of genuine See also:national art, quite unlike anything in Italy. Of palaces the finest is perhaps the massive Palazzo Chiaramonte, now used as the courts of See also:justice, erected subsequently to 1307. One of the halls has interesting paintings of 1377–1380 on its wooden See also:ceiling; and in the upper See also:storey of the See also:court is a splendid three-See also:light Gothic window.

The later houses employ a very See also:

flat See also:arch, the use of which goes on in some of the houses and smaller churches of the See also:Renaissance. S. Maria della Catena may be taken as an especially good example. But the See also:general aspect of the streets is later still, dating from mere Spanish times. Still many of the houses are stately in their way, with remarkable heavy balconies. The most striking point in the city is the central space at the See also:crossing of the main streets, called the Quattro Cantoni. Two of the four are formed by the ancient Via Marmorea, but the Via Macqueda, which supplies the other two, was cut through a See also:mass of small streets in Spanish times. The city walls are now to a great extent removed. Of the See also:gates only two remain, the Porta Nuova and the Porta Felice; both are fine examples of the See also:baroque style, the former was erected in 1584 to commemorate the return of Charles V. fifty years earlier, the latter in 1582. Outside the walls new quarters have sprung up of See also:recent years, and the Teatro Massimo and the Politeama Garibaldi; the former (begun by G. B. Basile and completed by his son in 1897) has See also:room for 3200 spectators and is the largest in Italy.

The museum of Palermo, the richest in the island, has been transferred from the university to the former monastery of the Filippini: Among the most important are the See also:

objects from prehistoric tombs and the architectural fragments from See also:Selinus, including several metopes with reliefs, which are of great importance as illustrating the development of Greek See also:sculpture. None of the numerous Greek vases and terra-cottas is quite of the first class, though the collection is important. The bronzes are few, but include the famous See also:ram from Syracuse. There is also the Casuccini collections of See also:Etruscan sarcophagi, sepulchral urns and pottery. Almost the only classical antiquities from Palermo itself are Latin inscriptions of the imperial See also:period, and two large coloured mosaics with figures found in the Piazza Vittoria in front of the royal palace in 1869: in 1906 excavations in the same square led to the See also:discovery of a large private See also:house, apparently of the 2nd or 3rd century A.U., to which these mosaics no doubt belonged. Of greater See also:local interest are the See also:medieval and Renaissance sculptures from Palermo itself, a large picture See also:gallery, and an extensive collection of Sicilian See also:majolica, &c. The university, founded in 1779, rose to importance in recent years (from 300 students in 1872 to 1495 in 1897), but has slightly lost in See also:numbers since. The city wears a prosperous and busy See also:appearance. The Marina, or esplanade at the south of the town, affords a fine sea front with a view of the bay; near it are beautiful public gardens. In the immediate neighbourhood of the city are the See also:oldest church in or near Palermo, the Lepers' church, founded by the first conqueror or deliverer, Count Roger, and the See also:bridge over the forsaken stream of the Oreto, built in King Roger's See also:day by the admiral George. There are also some later medieval houses and towers of some importance. These all See also:lie on to the south of the city, towards the See also:hill called Monte Griffone (Griffon-Greek), and the See also:Giant's See also:Cave, which has furnished rich stores for the palaeontologist.

Onthe other side, towards Pellegrino, is the new harbour of Palermo, See also:

round which a new quarter has sprung up, including a yard capable of building See also:ships up to 475 ft. in length, and a dry See also:dock for vessels up to 563 ft. The steamship See also:traffic at Palermo in 1906 amounted to 2035 vessels, with a See also:total See also:tonnage of 2,403,851 tons. Palermo is one of the two headquarters (the other being See also:Genoa) of the Navigazione Generale Italiana, the chief See also:Italian steamship See also:company. The See also:principal imports were 36,567 tons of See also:timber (a large increase on the normal figures), 21,4011 tons of See also:wheat and 151,36o tons of See also:coal; while the chief exports were 116,400 gallons of See also:wine, 37,835 tons of See also:sumach and 122,023 tons of oranges and lemons. Finding most of its valuable rates hypothecated to the meeting of old debts, the See also:municipality of Palermo has embarked upon municipal owner-See also:ship and trading in various directions. The See also:plain of Palermo is very fertile, and well watered by springs and streams, of the latter of which the Oreto is the chief. It is planted with See also:orange and See also:lemon groves, the products of which are largely exported, and with many See also:palm-trees, the See also:fruit of which, however, does not attain maturity. It also contains many villas of the wealthy inhabitants of Palermo, among the most beautiful of which is La Favorita, at the foot of Monte Pellegrino on the west, belonging to the See also:Crown. AuvxoRITIEs—Besides works dealing with Sicily generally, the established local work on Palermo is Descrizione di Palermo antico, by Salvatore Morso (2nd ed., Palermo, 1827). See also:Modern See also:research and See also:criticism have been applied in See also:Die mitteldlterliche Kunst in Palermo, by Anton See also:Springer (See also:Bonn, 1869); Historische Topographie von Panormus, by See also:Julius Schubring (See also:Lubeck, 1870) ; Studii di storia palermitana, by Adolf Holm (Palermo, 1880). See also " The See also:Normans in Palermo," in the third series of See also:Historical Essays, by E. A.

See also:

Freeman (See also:London, 1879). The description of Palermo in the second See also:volume of Gselfel's See also:guide-See also:book, Unter-Italien and Sicilien (See also:Leipzig), leaves nothing to wish for. Various articles in the Archivio storico siciliano and the series of Documenti per servire alla storia della Sicilia, both published by the Societh siciliana per la storia patria, may also be consulted. (E. A. F.; T.

End of Article: PALERMO (Greek, Havopuos; Latin, Panhormus, Panormus)

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