Piazza Indipendenza

Piazza Indipendenza is a broad public square in Palermo, where gardens meet political, religious, and everyday city life. Palazzo d’Orleans stands beside the Royal Palace, also called Palazzo Reale or the Palace of the Normans. Orleans Park and the Palazzo Reale Orleans underground station extend the setting southwards. The central garden incorporates one bastion from the Norman Palace.

The plaza was once called Santa Teresa before Palermo renamed it after Italy’s unification in the nineteenth century. That change connected the place with Italian independence. Its religious history reaches Madonna dei Rimedi, a church originally dedicated to Saint Teresa of Avila. A military district and historical post station added defence and communication functions. Palazzo d’Orleans serves as the office of the Sicilian regional presidency, while the Royal Palace hosts the Sicilian Regional Assembly. That palace also provides access to the Palatine Chapel, known for mosaics and Norman architecture.

An obelisk erected on 4 April 1866 honours the martyrs of Italian independence. It commemorates those who died during the Gancia revolt, an anti-Bourbon uprising before Garibaldi landed at Marsala. Porta Nuova completes the historical setting around this meeting point of Palermo’s past and present.