We enjoyed our stay at Giovanni's apartment in the very heart of Palermo. There are bars and restaurants on the street where the apartment is situated, but we didn't have any problems with the noise from downstairs. The rooms are quiet and comfortable. Even the terrace is not too noisy to sit down and have a chat during the night.
The streets leading to the apartment are very narrow, cobble stoned and very hard to park. So if you arrive by car, you need to find parking around the neighborhood. Giovanni was very helpful with the process of finding a parking spot. I ended up parking on a street ~10 mins walking distance from the apartment. Not a big deal, but something to note.
The apartment was spacious, clean and well maintained. We had no problems whatsoever. The decorations and paintings around the house were quite interesting; creating a very Sicilian vibe in the house. There is no elevator in the building, it is two stories of very narrow stairs up to the apartment.