Take to the rooftops in Palermo for dazzling views of historic city
PALERMO, Italy - Every day, Marco Sorrentino climbs 80 steps up a narrow spiral staircase to the roof of the medieval tower of San Nicolò de Bari.
The former fortified tower and its church are located in the heart of Ballarò, a historic district whose colorful market is famous throughout Italy.
“This is the very heart of Palermo, if not the heart of the entire Mediterranean. Everyone has passed through here at some point,” says Sorrentino, alluding to the city’s 3,000-year history and the many cultures that have shaped it.
His office is on the ground floor of the tower but up here, he can enjoy gazing at Monte Pellegrino, the sea, the palazzi and churches that rise above the maze of alleys below.
Diagonally opposite the tower, the dome of the Carmine Maggiore, tiled with yellow, blue and green majolica, glitters in the sunlight – for many, it is the most beautiful church in all of Palermo.
More nationalities than at the UN
Ballarò, at the foot of the tower, is a neighborhood that has been welcoming immigrants from all over the world for decades. Sorrentino jokes, “There are more nationalities here than at the UN in New York.”
Ballaró is popular among young people and students and is livelier and busier than the other two historic districts, Il Capo and La Kalsa. In this area, local painter Igor Scalisi Palminteri has decorated many facades with street art, featuring religious motifs.
Close by in Piazza Casa Professa is Chiesa del Gesù church, the largest Baroque church in Palermo. Often overlooked, it has colorful marble mosaics and magnificent frescoes - though barely any tourists visit, says priest Walter Bottaccio. It is just struggling amid the competition from the city’s many other must-see sights.
When a glance becomes addictive
A 10-minute walk takes you to a hill where Phoenicians, Arabs and Byzantines once settled. This is the highlight of Palermo: the Norman Palace (Palazzo dei Normanni) with its magnificent Palatine Chapel.
Its dazzling mosaics, which also feature gold leaf, depict scenes from the story of creation and the Old and New Testaments.
The honeycomb-shaped wooden ceiling, elaborately painted by Egyptian artists at the time, is a masterpiece. “Many Palermitans get married in the chapel, but it now takes a long time to get an appointment,” says art historian Giovanni Masaniello. The palace, built by Norman King Roger II, is now also the seat of the Sicilian Regional Parliament.
One of its towers has also housed an astronomical observatory since 1790. Its dome can be seen from afar and it is here where you get the best view of the city and the bay of Palermo. “This panorama is addictive,” says Laura Daricello, a research assistant at the state astrophysical institute INAF.
The observatory was built during the reign of the Bourbons, who ruled in Naples and Palermo and promoted the sciences. It is the tallest building in the old town. From up here, the huge Cathedral of Palermo, also built in the Arab-Byzantine style, seems close enough to touch.
There, visitors walk along a narrow footbridge on the roof in single file in the early hours of the morning, against the backdrop of Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Italy.
Oasis with a sweet secret
Hardly visible from above, however, is the city’s hub: the Quattro Canti square, meaning “four corners.” It is framed by four imposing façades, which bear witness to the former rule of the Iberians in Sicily with statues of Spanish kings.
Here on the square, at the intersection of the two magnificent streets Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, many people bustle about day and night. Those seeking peace are in the right spot, with Santa Caterina monastery just steps away.
Behind the simple exterior façade, there is a courtyard with a splashing fountain, a monastery church and a roof terrace. For almost 700 years, nuns of the Dominican Order lived here in seclusion and created a little paradise for themselves.
The Sicilian festive cake Cassata and numerous other recipes live on in the monastery pastry shop I segreti del chiostro, or the secrets of the monastery. The tour of the monastery leads past the former sleeping quarters of the nuns and finally to the roof terrace.
The fountain of shame
From up here, you have a view of the most important monuments in the city centre. These include the Fontana Pretoria, whose sculptures of naked river gods and nymphs once shocked locals, earning it the name “fountain of shame.”
Almost next to it, the two adjacent churches of Martorana and San Cataldo form an imposing duo. They are perfectly staged against the mountain backdrop. It is yet another compelling viewing spot.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 10:52 AM.