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Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is an amazing multicultural city whose Arabic architectural influences and contemporary ties with migration make it a key place for exploring Black Italian culture. In this guide, I explore Palermo's Arab-Norman architecture and its thriving migrant community, with a special spotlight on the district of Albergheria.
Discover Palermo's Arab-Norman Architecture
Discover Palermo's Arab-Norman Architecture
La Zisa
La Zisa
Discover La Zisa, an incredible example of Arab-Norman architecture, at Atlas Obscura.
Read about how contemporary migration is revitalizing Palermo's urban landscape:
Read about how contemporary migration is revitalizing Palermo's urban landscape:
Medium: How Palermo Became a Host to African Refugees
In a country whose borders are closing more tightly to migrants, Sicily’s capital has become a center of resistance.
Medium: How Palermo Became a Host to African Refugees
In a country whose borders are closing more tightly to migrants, Sicily’s capital has become a center of resistance.
New York Times: "Palermo Is Again a Migrant City, Shaped Now by Bangladeshis and Nigerians"
What Italians think about migrants is complicated, especially in Palermo. Ballarò market, in the center of town, is where many of those complications are playing out.
New York Times: "Palermo Is Again a Migrant City, Shaped Now by Bangladeshis and Nigerians"
What Italians think about migrants is complicated, especially in Palermo. Ballarò market, in the center of town, is where many of those complications are playing out.
Explore multicultural Sicily through a guided walking tour.
Explore multicultural Sicily through a guided walking tour.
Enjoy a guided tour of multicultural Palermo, through the eyes of Black Italians and other cultural mediators.
"We believe it is important to defend the right to travel as an inalienable right of every human being, the right to travel to find better living conditions or simply for the pleasure of doing so and enriching one's life with experiences."
Eat delicious fusion food at Moltivolti.
Eat delicious fusion food at Moltivolti.
You will encounter new flavours in dishes such as bottarga and lemon spaghetti, gnocchi tenerumi, Fish cous cous, and Maffè (Senegalese national dish rice and peanut butter).
Discover Ballarò Market.
Discover Ballarò Market.
Ballarò is the “oldest food market in Palermo”, according to a 10th-century Arab author’s travel log. It is held in Albergheria, one of the five Norman quarters of Sicily’s capital city.
Albergheria
Albergheria
Ballarò Market is in the district of Albergheria, Palermo's largest multi-ethnic neighborhood. Though the neighborhood had experienced severe depopulation following WWII, migrants have given "new life" to this community.
The thriving multi-ethnic community in Albergheria has not been received well by Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia, who have long controlled this neighborhood and view the newcomers as a threat. Though the mafia has traditionally been understood as a key player driving undocumented immigration to the country, Albergheria has led some to ask if the situation might be more complicated.
“The city had lost its identity, but now [the migrants] are making it alive again.”
Palermo's Rainbow Choir
Palermo's Rainbow Choir
Run by the Teatro Massimo, Palermo's majestic opera house, the Rainbow Choir unites children from the city's many migrant communities.
Further Reading:
Further Reading:
Mediterraneo Anti-Razzista (Anti-Racist Mediterranean) Photography Project
In a country whose borders are closing more tightly to migrants, Sicily’s capital has become a center of resistance.
Mediterraneo Anti-Razzista (Anti-Racist Mediterranean) Photography Project
In a country whose borders are closing more tightly to migrants, Sicily’s capital has become a center of resistance.
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