Cultural site in Palermo

The Norman kings' palace, and inside it the Cappella Palatina — a chapel where Byzantine mosaic, Arab woodwork and Norman building meet in one room, which is the whole argument for Sicily in a single space. Still the seat of the regional assembly, so parts close without notice. Book ahead.

Corridors of some eight thousand mummified bodies, clothed and displayed upright, from the sixteenth century to the 1920s. Genuinely unsettling and not suitable for everyone or for young children — worth deciding before you are standing in it. An hour, and a short bus ride from the centre.

The baroque crossroads where the two main streets meet, each of the four curved corners carved in tiers with a season, a king and a patron saint. Traffic runs through it constantly. Five minutes of looking up, and the point from which the old quarters are easiest to navigate.