Palermo
Sicily's ancient capital has been around for nearly 3,000 years since its foundation by Phoenician traders.
Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, Austrians and others have contributed to its epic history and culture - leaving their imprint upon a rumbustious city whose atmospheric amalgam of often shabby back-streets, lively markets and weathered monuments epitomises all the colour and contradictions of a city that is so splendidly Sicilian.
