History of Palermo
Palermo is one of the major cities of Italy, and the historical and administrative capital of Sicily.
First settlements[]
Human settlement in the Palermo area goes back to prehistoric times. It has one of the most ancient sites in Sicily: Interesting graffiti and prehistoric paintings were discovered in the Addaura grottoes in 1953 by archaeologist Jole Bovio Marconi. They portray dancing figures performing a propitiatory rite, perhaps shamans.
Phoenicians[]
In 734 BC Phoenicians from Tyre established a flourishing merchant colony in the Palermo area. The relationship of the new city with the Siculi, the people living in the Eastern part of the Island involved both commerce and war. The first building in which soon became a great city was called Mabbonath[citation needed] ("lodging" in Phoenician). The settlement itself was known as Ziz[1] (Punic: