Palermo

Housing cheaper than in the big Centre-North cities, but the historic centre is rising fast because of short-term lets and Via Libertà costs as much as a northern city. Cheap street food and markets; low-cost AMAT pass. Insularity weighs on some goods and on travel; a car costs in time and parking.

A historic centre of restored palaces, B&Bs and crumbling buildings; Libertà and Politeama for those seeking services and paying more; Zisa, Noce and Oreto working-class and cheap; Mondello for the sea; Viale delle Scienze for students. Public housing by IACP and the Comune; ERSU university residences.

Registry and ID card at the offices of the eight districts and the central office, by appointment. Waste with RAP: street bins in most of the city, door-to-door in some districts, municipal collection centres. Drinkable AMAP water, with rotation in crisis periods: watch the notices. Municipal and regional libraries, historic markets.

To enter with a dog, cat or ferret you need a microchip, an EU pet passport or health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination. Mandatory registration in the regional pet register, lead at all times and a muzzle to hand. Pets allowed on trains under Trenitalia rules and in apartment buildings by law.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

AMAT runs buses and four tram lines; Trenitalia's Passante railway works as a surface metro and reaches Punta Raisi airport. Ferries from the port to Naples, Genoa, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Cagliari and Tunis. Limited-traffic zone in the historic centre on weekdays. Heavy traffic: the car is the most common choice but the slowest.

Euro, cards accepted almost everywhere, a legal cash limit. Anyone living in Italy for most of the year is tax resident and taxed on worldwide income under three IRPEF brackets; specific regimes exist for the self-employed (forfettario), inbound workers, foreign pensioners and new residents. Contributions go to INPS; annual return with the 730 or Redditi form.

The city is District 42 of the ASP of Palermo, with a network of PTA centres (Centro, Casa del Sole, Biondo, Enrico Albanese, Guadagna). Hospitals: the Giaccone university hospital on via del Vespro, the ARNAS Civico and Di Cristina, and Villa Sofia–Cervello with three sites. ASP booking line 800.098.739, online bookings and the regional SovraCUP; out-of-hours posts across the district.

Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.

Public employment (Region, Comune, State, health care, university) first, then retail, fast-growing tourism and catering, a port with ferries, cruises and a shipyard, ICT services of national companies. Employment rates among the lowest of the regional capitals; much informal work. ZES unica for investors.

A VAT number (partita IVA) from the Agenzia delle Entrate for freelancers; for businesses the Comunicazione Unica to the Registro delle Imprese, which also notifies the Agenzia, INPS, INAIL and SUAP. Main forms: sole proprietorship, SNC/SAS, SRL and SRLS, SPA. Compulsory PEC, annual chamber fee, e-invoicing. Invitalia incentives; non-EU citizens need a self-employment permit or the investor visa.

The University of Palermo has over 46,000 students (2025/26) in 16 departments and a School of Medicine, with the Viale delle Scienze campus, the Policlinico and the Steri. Student support through ERSU Palermo: grants, residences, canteens. Students between Viale delle Scienze, Oreto and the historic centre.

A municipality divided into eight districts with elected councils, seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly and the regional government, capital of the Metropolitan City. Sicilian is spoken everywhere alongside Italian. Patron Saint Rosalia: the Festino on 14–15 July, the Acchianata up Monte Pellegrino on 4 September.

Mild rainy winters, long very hot summers: on 24 July 2023 the Astronomical Observatory measured 47 °C, a record since 1865. The 2024 drought brought a national state of emergency for Sicily and, from October 2024, water rotation in most districts. Summer wildfires on the surrounding mountains; PM10 above the limit on several days a year.

Seven Arab-Norman monuments on the UNESCO list (Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, Cathedral, Zisa, Martorana, San Cataldo, San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Admiral's Bridge) with Monreale and Cefalù; Teatro Massimo, Quattro Canti, markets, Capuchin Catacombs. Mondello beach. Municipal tourist tax.

Panelle and crocchè, pane ca meusa, arancine, sfincione, stigghiola, cannoli and cassata at the Ballarò, Capo and Vucciria markets. Mondello and Monte Pellegrino, Favorita park, Botanical Garden. Teatro Massimo and Politeama; football at the Barbera. Evenings in the Vucciria, Kalsa and Via Chiavettieri.