Description of the attraction
The Makeda quarter, along which the street of the same name passes, is the old historic quarter of Palermo with many interesting sights. So, on Via Francesco Raimondi there is the Church of Sant'Agostino, built in the 14th century in the Romanesque style. Its construction was sponsored by the influential Sicilian family La Groix, whose family coat of arms can still be seen on the facade of the building. The interior of the church was redesigned in the Baroque style in the following centuries. The cloister of the temple, located to the left of the main entrance, is made in the Catalan Gothic style. There is a fountain in its center, and 13th century furnishings have been preserved in one of the corners of the chapter house. An ancient Roman grave is embedded in the wall of the stairs leading from the side entrance to the church.
Next to Sant'Agostino is the Capo Market - a huge street market where you can plunge into the atmosphere of Palermo's past. Here you can see a variety of merchants' shops and buy fresh meat, fish and souvenirs.
An interesting building in the Makeda quarter is Villa Malfitana, located in a walled park near the Tsiza Palace. It is a typical 18th century estate built in English style for the Whitaker family, merchants from Marsala. Over the years, members of the British, Neapolitan and Italian royal families have stayed in this luxurious palace.
The Archaeological Museum of Palermo is also worth a visit, occupying several buildings near the Church of San Filippo Neri in Piazza Olivella. One of the museum buildings with large arched windows dates back to the 13th century. The entire museum complex contains artifacts from the Phoenician, Punic, Greek, Roman and Saracenic periods of the rule of Sicily. Here you can also see some interesting exhibits brought from Egypt and other countries of the world. Of particular interest are the large mosaic floor from the ruins of Roman buildings on Piazza Vittoria, lion heads from the Greek temple in Chimera, sarcophagi from Villabate, various pottery and coins, as well as the so-called Stone of Palermo. The latter was discovered in Egypt in the 19th century during an expedition sponsored by the Whitaker family and was supposed to go to the British Museum, but for various reasons remained in Palermo. On it you can see engraved hieroglyphs that tell about the life of the Egyptian pharaohs.
Other noteworthy buildings in the Makeda quarter are Castello al Mare - Castle by the Sea, built by the Normans and destroyed in the second half of the 19th century, and the Teatro Massimo in Piazza Verdi, one of the most famous in Italy.
