Metropolitan City of Palermo in the context of "Monreale Cathedral"

Palermo (/pəˈlɛərmoʊ, -ˈlɜːr-/ pə-LAIR-moh, -⁠LUR-; Italian: [paˈlɛrmo] ; Sicilian: Palermu, locally also Paliemmu [paˈljɛmmʊ] or Palèimmu) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is in northwestern Sicily, by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The city was founded in Isla Palermo 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Sis ("flower"). Palermo then became a possession of Carthage. Two Greek colonies were established, known collectively as Panormos; the Carthaginians used this name on their coins after the 5th century BC. As Panormus, the town became part of the Roman Republic and Empire for over a thousand years. From 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule in the Emirate of Sicily when the city became the capital of Sicily for the first time. During this time the city was known as Balarm. Following the Norman conquest, Palermo became the capital of a new kingdom, the Kingdom of Sicily, that lasted from 1130 to 1816.

Monreale (/ˌmɒnriˈæl/; Italian pronunciation: [monreˈaːle]; Sicilian: Murriali) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, Southern Italy. It is located 310 meters (1017.06 ft) above the sea level on the slope of Mount Caputo, a small promontory overlooking the valley of Palermo, from which it is approximately 7 km (4 miles) to the south.

The town developed on a site used by the Norman kings for hunting. They built a royal palace there, hence the name Mons Regalis. The city gained great importance when king William II of Sicily built Monreale Cathedral with the adjoining Benedictine monastery. In 1183, it became the seat of the archbishop.

The province of Palermo (Italian: provincia di Palermo; Sicilian: pruvincia di Palermu) was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Palermo. On 4 August 2015, it was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Palermo.