La Kalsa — Das Arabische Viertel und Palermos Historischstes Viertel
La Kalsa (the 'al-Khalisa' — the Arabic name for the 'chosen place', the exclusive quarter of the Arab Emir's palace in the 9th-10th century Emirate of Palermo, subsequently the most densely populated quarter of the Norman city and the most heavily bombed neighbourhood in the Allied bombing of 1943) is the most historically layered neighbourhood in Palermo, the neighbourhood where the Arab palaces, the Norman churches, the Baroque oratories, and the post-war reconstruction coexist in the most dramatic and the most atmospheric street scene in Sicily.
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La Kalsa — The Arab Quarter That Defines Palermo
La Kalsa (from the Arabic Al-Khalisa, 'the pure', the Fatimid Arab administrative district established in 937 CE) is Palermo's most historically layered neighbourhood — after Arab, Norman, Aragonese, and Bourbon rule, the district was heavily bombed in 1943 WWII Allied attacks and left partially in ruins until the 1990s; the ruins are now incorporated into the neighbourhood's aesthetic (deliberately preserved sections of bomb-damaged buildings, wild plants growing from walls); the Piazza della Kalsa and Via Alloro are the main streets.
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Galleria Regionale della Sicilia — The Antonello da Messina Collection
The Galleria Regionale della Sicilia (Palazzo Abatellis, Via Alloro 4, Kalsa, 15th-century palazzo, the finest Norman-Aragonese secular palace surviving in Palermo, €6 entry) houses Sicily's most important art collection — the Triumph of Death (15th-century fresco, moved from the Palazzo Sclafani, depicting Death as a mounted skeleton riding through a crowd, the most disturbing and greatest Gothic work in Italy) and 5 paintings by Antonello da Messina (1430–1479, the first Italian painter to master Flemish oil technique) are the principal works.
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Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri — The Inquisition Prison
Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri (Piazza Marina, Kalsa, 1307, now the rectorate of the University of Palermo) is the most historically disturbing building in Palermo — from 1605 to 1782 it served as the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition in Sicily; the prison cells (the ground floor, open by guided tour only, €5) contain the graffiti, drawings, and text left by prisoners, some over their 20–30 year imprisonments; the inscriptions (in Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic) include prayers, calendars, and the most intimate surviving personal documents from the Inquisition.
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Piazza Marina — Ficus Trees and the Mafia Myth
Piazza Marina (Kalsa, the central piazza of the waterfront area) is famous for its giant Ficus macrophylla trees (Moreton Bay figs from Australia, planted in the 1860s, with 20m-wide aerial root systems creating shadowed grottos) and for being associated with the Palermo Mafia's history — the Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri (adjacent) was where Mafia trials were held in the 19th century; the bars around the piazza serve the cheapest granita al caffè in Palermo (€1.20 with brioche).
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Kalsa Street Art — Palermo's Outdoor Gallery
Since the 2012 Manifesta European art biennial (held in Palermo's abandoned warehouses and public spaces), the Kalsa neighbourhood has accumulated one of the densest concentrations of street art in southern Italy — the Laboratorio Zen (community arts space), the walls of Via Lincoln, and the former Cantieri Culturali della Zisa (abandoned shipyard now used as arts venue) are the primary locations; the Sicilian artists Alessandro Bazan and Fulvio Di Piazza contribute permanent works; the Associazione Culturale A Putia organizes walking tours.
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Mercato del Capo — The Living Street Market
Mercato del Capo (Via Porta Carini and surroundings, Capo district adjacent to Kalsa, daily morning market, the oldest continuously operating street market in Palermo) is Palermo's most theatrical food market — the fish vendors (using a call-and-response chanting technique called abbanniata to advertise their products, a tradition documented since the Arab period) make the market an aural as much as visual experience; the street food (panelle fritte — chickpea fritters, €0.50; stigghiola — grilled lamb intestines on a skewer, €1.50; pane con la milza — spleen sandwich, €2.50) defines Palermo street eating.