In short
Palermo has been Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Spanish. The Palatine Chapel gathers the last three layers into a single room: Byzantine mosaics, an Arab muqarnas ceiling, a Norman structure.
It is also Europe's street-food city: arancine, panelle, sfincione, and pane con la milza for the curious.
What it really costs
Housing and eating out cost less than in Naples, already the cheapest large city in western mainland Italy. A month here costs what a week costs in Venice.
The markets — Ballarò, Capo, Vucciria — feed you standing up for a few euros. A sit-down restaurant is the exception, not the rule.
What nobody tells you
The city is worn. Collapsed façades sit beside restored palaces, and it is disconcerting on the first day. It is not neglect; it is an enormous historic centre on a limited municipal budget.
Pickpocketing is common in the markets and around the central station. Bag in front of you and nothing in your back pockets is enough.
The Capuchin catacombs display eight thousand clothed bodies standing in the corridors. It is not a picturesque curiosity and it does not suit everyone.