The province of Palermo (; Sicilian: ''pruvincia di Palermu'') was a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the

autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or territory, internal territory of a sovereign state that has ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, a major island in

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. Its capital was the city of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. On 4 August 2015, it was replaced by the

Metropolitan City of Palermo The Metropolitan City of Palermo (; ) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. It replaced the province of Palermo and comprises the city of Palermo and 82 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It has 1,194,439 in ...

History and location

Its name is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''Panormus''. From 1072 to 1194 Palermo was the capital of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

before Naples became the new capital under the rule of the French Angevin dynasty. It has also been ruled by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, Byzantines, Normans, Arabs,

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

and Americans (during part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

). Historical accounts recording the existence of the province date back to the 8th and 6th century BC. The province is surrounded by

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

in the north,

province of Trapani The province of Trapani (; ; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by ...

in the west, the provinces of

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

and

Caltanissetta Caltanissetta (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Cartanissètta)'' is an Italian comune with a population of 58,012 inhabitants, serving as the capital of the Province of Caltanissetta, free municipal consortium of Caltanissetta in Sicily. The earl ...

in the south,

Enna Enna ( or ; ; , less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has e ...

in the southeast and

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

in the east. It is popular for its beaches, namely

Mondello Mondello () is a seaside district of the city of Palermo in the autonomous region of Sicily, in Southern Italy. It lies on a sandy bay delimited by two hills called Mount Gallo and Mount Pellegrino, in the northernmost area of the city. In the ad ...

. The land is mountainous and includes Pollina and Imera Valleys. Madonie Range is located in the province.

Administration and demographics

The province of Palermo had 82 ''

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (: ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

''), 1,249,533 inhabitants, (24.9% of the Sicilian population) and is (19.4% of the Sicilian territory). Some major towns of the province are

Alia Alia or ALIA may refer to: People *Alia (name), a list of people with the surname or given name Places *Alia, Sicily, Italy, a comune * Alia (Phrygia), a town of ancient Phrygia which remains a Roman Catholic titular bishopric * Alía, Spain, a ...

Alimena Alimena is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region of Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. Alimena borders the following municipalities: Blufi, Bompietro, Gangi, Petralia Soprana, Petra ...

Sclafani Bagni Sclafani Bagni ( Sicilian: ''Sclàfani Bagni'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. Geography Sclafani Bagni borders the following municipalities: ...

and

Petralia Soprana Petralia Soprana ( Sicilian: ''Pitralìa Suprana'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,630 and an a ...

. In 1840, for the purpose of administration the province was divided into four districts – Palermo, Corleone, Termini and Cefalu.

Economy and tourism

Service is the most important economic sector for the province, accounting for three-quarters of the total employment opportunities, while the industry and agriculture employ 18% and 6% of the population respectively. The unemployment rate is high. Tourism is also an important industry. A few major tourist destinations include Arab-Norman Palatine Chapel, Church of St. John of the Hermits, Palazzo Abatellis, Gothic Palazzo Chiaramonte and National Gallery of Sicily. The seat of the Sicilian parliament is located in the province. A

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

containing the tombs of Frederick II and other rulers is also a well known tourist attraction. The Madonie Regional Park is also located in the province. It has an airport called Falcone-Borsellino Airport, which serves about a million passengers every year, while the local port serves about half a million passengers every year. From July to September the province is a tourist mecca.

References

{{Coord, 38, 06, 56, N, 13, 21, 41, E, source:itwiki_type:adm2nd, display=title

History and location

Administration and demographics

Economy and tourism

See also

References