Palermo

qas: question: For what is Palermo known?
answers: text: history, culture, architecture and gastronomy

question: How old is the city of Palermo?
answers: text: 2,700 years old

question: On what island is Palermo located?
answers: text: Sicily

question: What country is Paletrmo a mainland city of?

question: What city is the capital of the Palermo province but noit the region of Sicily?

question: What city has been around since 2700 A.D.?

question: What city is in the northwest of Italy?

question: What city is near the Tyrrhenian Gulf?
context: Palermo (Italian: [paˈlɛrmo] ( listen), Sicilian: Palermu, Latin: Panormus, from Greek: Πάνορμος, Panormos, Arabic: بَلَرْم‎, Balarm; Phoenician: זִיז, Ziz) is a city in Insular Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. 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 located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

qas: question: In what year was Palermo founded?
answers: text: 734 BC

question: What name was Palermo originally founded as?
answers: text: Ziz

question: What group of people founded Palermo?
answers: text: the Phoenicians

question: What did the Greeks name Palermo?
answers: text: Panormus

question: During which years was Palermo ruled by the Arabs?
answers: text: 831 to 1072

question: Who founded Palermo in 734 AD?

question: Who changed the name of Palermo to Ziz?

question: Who changed the name of the city from Balarm to Panormus?

question: Who gained control of the city in 1072?

question: In what year was Palermo united?
context: The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz ('flower'). Palermo then became a possession of Carthage, before becoming part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning 'complete port'. From 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Balarm, the root for Palermo's present-day name. Following the Norman reconquest, Palermo became the capital of a new kingdom (from 1130 to 1816), the Kingdom of Sicily and the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Frederick II Holy Roman Emperor and Conrad IV of Germany, King of the Romans. Eventually Sicily would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.

qas: question: What types of churches attract tourists to Palermo?
answers: text: Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque

question: Which town is Sicily's primary industrial and commercial center?
answers: text: Palermo

question: What are Palermo's four main industrial sectors?
answers: text: tourism, services, commerce and agriculture

question: What city is Italy's cultural , economic, and tourist capital?

question: Who likes Palermo's sub tropical weather?

question: What city is main Italian industrial and cultural center?

question: Why is Palermo one of the largest cities in Europe?

question: What is Sicily going through?
context: Palermo is Sicily's cultural, economic and touristic capital. It is a city rich in history, culture, art, music and food. Numerous tourists are attracted to the city for its good Mediterranean weather, its renowned gastronomy and restaurants, its Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque churches, palaces and buildings, and its nightlife and music. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center: the main industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce and agriculture. Palermo currently has an international airport, and a significant underground economy.[citation needed] In fact, for cultural, artistic and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. The city is also going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area.

qas: question: What geographic form is Palermo surrounded by?
answers: text: mountains

question: Which author desribed Monte Pelegrino as "The most beautiful promontory in the world?"
answers: text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,

question: Which is the tallest mountain in Sicily?
answers: text: La Pizzuta

question: Where is Monte Pellegrino in relation to other peaks?
answers: text: geographically separated from the rest of the range by a plain

question: What city is surrounded by valleys?

question: Why is it difficult to reach Palermo from Sicily?

question: Which peak is 1333 feet hight?

question: Which mountain is seperated from the rest of the range by a valley?

question: Who described Monte Pellegrino in the 1900's
context: Palermo is surrounded by mountains, formed of calcar, which form a cirque around the city. Some districts of the city are divided by the mountains themselves. Historically, it was relatively difficult to reach the inner part of Sicily from the city because of the mounts. The tallest peak of the range is La Pizzuta, about 1,333 m (4,373 ft.) high. However, historically, the most important mount is Monte Pellegrino, which is geographically separated from the rest of the range by a plain. The mount lies right in front of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Monte Pellegrino's cliff was described in the 19th century by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, as "The most beautiful promontory in the world", in his essay "Italian Journey".

qas: question: How can former rivers be recognised presently?
answers: text: the streets that were built on them follow their shapes

question: What is the only remaining waterway in Palermo?
answers: text: Oreto river

question: Which two former rivers in Palermo are currently building sites?
answers: text: Papireto river and the Kemonia

question: What bodies of water run through Pallermo?

question: What follows the former course of the Oreto?

question: What river divides the easr and west sides of the city?

question: What helped form the rivers.
context: Today both the Papireto river and the Kemonia are covered up by buildings. However, the shape of the former watercourses can still be recognised today, because the streets that were built on them follow their shapes. Today the only waterway not drained yet is the Oreto river that divides the downtown of the city from the western uptown and the industrial districts. In the basins there were, though, many seasonal torrents that helped formed swampy plains, reclaimed during history; a good example of which can be found in the borough of Mondello.

qas: question: What did Phoenicans name their settlement in 734BC?
answers: text: "Ziz."

question: Besides Ziz, what other two major settlements belonged to the Phoenicians
answers: text: Motya and Soluntum

question: Why cant artifacts from the Phoenicians be easily excavated?
answers: text: remains of the Phoenician presence in the city are few and mostly preserved in the very populated center of the downtown area

question: What is the current name of the road the Phoenicians used for trading?
answers: text: Corso Calatifimi

question: Who built a settlement on the hatbor of Palermo?

question: Where did the Phoenicians build a harbor in 734 AD

question: Where is the modern day port of Ziz?

question: What road helped the Phoenicians trade with the Arabs?

question: What were the other tewo Canaanite colonies of Sicily?
context: During 734 BC the Phoenicians, a sea trading people from the north of ancient Canaan, built a small settlement on the natural harbor of Palermo. Some sources suggest they named the settlement "Ziz." It became one of the three main Phoenician colonies of Sicily, along with Motya and Soluntum. However, the remains of the Phoenician presence in the city are few and mostly preserved in the very populated center of the downtown area, making any excavation efforts costly and logistically difficult. The site chosen by the Phoenicians made it easy to connect the port to the mountains with a straight road that today has become Corso Calatifimi. This road helped the Phoenicians in trading with the populations that lived beyond the mountains that surround the gulf.

qas: question: Why was the first settlement named Paleapolis?
answers: text: in order to distinguish it from a second settlement built during the 5th century BC, called Neapolis

question: What were the walls of Neapolis meant to do?
answers: text: prevent attacks from foreign threats

question: Which district was named for the walls surrounding it?
answers: text: Cassaro

question: What did Arabs call the "old city"?

question: What was built during the 500's BC.?

question: What is Neapolis the first settlement of?

question: What was built around thesettlement to keep sea water out?

question: What district was the wall named after?
context: The first settlement is defined as Paleapolis (Παλεάπολις), the Ancient Greek world for "old city", in order to distinguish it from a second settlement built during the 5th century BC, called Neapolis (Νεάπολις), "new city". The neapolis was erected towards the east and along with it, monumental walls around the whole settlement were built to prevent attacks from foreign threats. Some part of this structure can still be seen in the Cassaro district. This district was named after the walls themselves; the word Cassaro deriving from the Arab al-qsr (castle, stronghold). Along the walls there were few doors to access and exit the city, suggesting that trade even toward the inner part of the island occurred frequently. Moreover, according to some studies, it may be possible that there were some walls that divided the old city from the new one too. The colony developed around a central street (decumanus), cut perpendicularly by minor streets. This street today has become the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

qas: question: In which War did Greeks and Phoenicians fight over control of Sicily?
answers: text: Sicilian Wars

question: Why did the Sicilian Wars end?
answers: text: Carthage and Syracuse stopped warring and united in order to stop the Romans from gaining full control of the island during the First Punic War

question: Who conquered Panormos and briefly turned it into a Greek colony?
answers: text: Pyrrhus of Epirus

question: Why did the Greeks name Palermo Panormos?
answers: text: meaning "all port" due to the shape of its coast.

question: Who was Palermo's main trading partner under the Greeks?

question: Who had a period of peace under Carthage?

question: Who did Palermo comer into contact with from the 500's to the 600's BC?

question: Witch wars proceeded Palermo's contact with Ancient Greece?

question: Who's fleet was launched from Carthage in 408 BC?
context: Carthage was Palermo’s major trading partner under the Phoenicians and the city enjoyed a prolonged peace during this period. Palermo came into contact with the Ancient Greeks between the 6th and the 5th centuries BC which preceded the Sicilian Wars, a conflict fought between the Greeks of Syracuse and the Phoenicians of Carthage for control over the island of Sicily. During this war the Greeks named the settlement Panormos (Πάνορμος) from which the current name is derived, meaning "all port" due to the shape of its coast. It was from Palermo that Hamilcar I's fleet (which was defeated at the Battle of Himera) was launched. In 409 B.C. the city was looted by Hermocrates of Syracuse. The Sicilian Wars ended in 265 BC when Carthage and Syracuse stopped warring and united in order to stop the Romans from gaining full control of the island during the First Punic War. In 276 BC, during the Pyrrhic War, Panormos briefly became a Greek colony after being conquered by Pyrrhus of Epirus, but returned to Phoenician Carthage in 275. In 254 BC Panormos was besieged and conquered by the Romans in the first battle of Panormus (the name Latin name). Carthage attempted to reconquer Panormus in 251 BC but failed.

qas: question: How had the Vandals earned their strong reputation?
answers: text: occupied all the Roman provinces in North Africa by 455

question: Whom took control of the Vandal's territory after 488?
answers: text: Ostrogoths

question: How was Theodoric different than the Germanic Goths?
answers: text: Theodoric supported Roman culture and government

question: What name was the Eastern Roman Empire also known by?
answers: text: Byzantine Empire

question: Who's decline left Palermo under the control of the Roman Empire?

question: Who controled Palermo in the 4th century?

question: Who's North African provinces were occupied by the 4th century?

question: What tribe took the provinces from the Vandals in the 4th century?

question: What was the name of the war between the Ostogoths and The Western Roman Empire?
context: As the Roman Empire was falling apart, Palermo fell under the control of several Germanic tribes. The first were the Vandals in 440 AD under the rule of their king Geiseric. The Vandals had occupied all the Roman provinces in North Africa by 455 establishing themselves as a significant force. They acquired Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily shortly afterwards. However, they soon lost these newly acquired possessions to the Ostrogoths. The Ostrogothic conquest under Theodoric the Great began in 488; Theodoric supported Roman culture and government unlike the Germanic Goths. The Gothic War took place between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. Sicily was the first part of Italy to be taken under control of General Belisarius who was commissioned by Eastern Emperor. Justinian I solidified his rule in the following years.

qas: question: How long did Muslim control of Palermo last?
answers: text: 120 years

question: What did the Arabs introduce that continues to be relevant to Palermo's culture today?
answers: text: agricultural crops

question: How were the indigenous Palermo population treated under Muslim rule?
answers: text: reduced into near slavery

question: Who took control of the island in the 9th century?

question: What Emerite did the Muslims establish in the 9th century?

question: What city displaced Palermo as the capital during Arab rule?

question: What cities did Syracuse compete with in terms of importance and splendor?

question: What did Sicilians introduce to the Arabs?
context: The Muslims took control of the Island in 904, after decades of fierce fighting, and the Emirate of Sicily was established. Muslim rule on the island lasted for about 120 years and was marked by cruelty and brutality against the native population, which was reduced into near slavery[clarification needed] and Christian churches across the island were all completely destroyed.[page needed] Palermo (Balarm during Arab rule) displaced Syracuse as the capital city of Sicily. It was said to have then begun to compete with Córdoba and Cairo in terms of importance and splendor. For more than one hundred years Palermo was the capital of a flourishing emirate. The Arabs also introduced many agricultural crops which remain a mainstay of Sicilian cuisine.

qas: question: Who is considered a hero by natives for ending Muslim control of Palermo?
answers: text: Robert Guiscard

question: What was the family name who returned Palermo to Christianity after reconquest in 1072?
answers: text: Hautevilles

question: Where was the Kings Court held in the Kingdom of Sicily?
answers: text: Palazzo dei Normanni

question: How did the Kingdom of Sicily compare monetarily with the other European staes?
answers: text: one of the wealthiest states in Europe

question: What reconquest occured in the 10th century?

question: What Arab family fought in the reconquest?

question: Under who's rule was the kingdom of Sicily turned into the county of Sicily?

question: What Catherdral was built prior to the reconquest?
context: After dynastic quarrels however, there was a Christian reconquest in 1072. The family who returned the city to Christianity were called the Hautevilles, including Robert Guiscard and his army, who is regarded as a hero by the natives. It was under Roger II of Sicily that Norman holdings in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula were promoted from the County of Sicily into the Kingdom of Sicily. The Kingdom's capital was Palermo, with the King's Court held at the Palazzo dei Normanni. Much construction was undertaken during this period, such as the building of Palermo Cathedral. The Kingdom of Sicily became one of the wealthiest states in Europe.

qas: question: What year did Sicily become ruled by the Holy Roman Empire?
answers: text: 1194

question: What happened to Muslims during Holy Roman rule?
answers: text: emigrated or were expelled

question: What was Palermos population in 1330?
answers: text: 51,000

question: During what years did Austria rule Palermo?
answers: text: 1720 and 1734

question: Who controlled Sicily in the 11th century?

question: Who immigrated to Palermo during the rule of the Holy Roman Empire?

question: Who ruled Palermo in the 12th century?

question: What happened to Palermo's population in the 13th century?

question: What treaty put Palermo under Austrian rule in the 17th century?
context: Sicily fell under the control of the Holy Roman Empire in 1194. Palermo was the preferred city of the Emperor Frederick II. Muslims of Palermo emigrated or were expelled during Holy Roman rule. After an interval of Angevin rule (1266–1282), Sicily came under control of the Aragon and Barcelona dynasties. By 1330, Palermo's population had declined to 51,000. From 1479 until 1713 Palermo was ruled by the Kingdom of Spain, and again between 1717 and 1718. Palermo was also under Savoy control between 1713 and 1717 and 1718–1720 as a result of the Treaty of Utrecht. It was also ruled by Austria between 1720 and 1734.

qas: question: After what treaty did Savoia gain control of Italy?
answers: text: Treaty of Utrecht (1713)

question: For what event did Charles III choose Sicily as the location?
answers: text: his coronation

question: Where did the Royal Court reside?
answers: text: Naples

question: Where did the capital city move in 1817?
answers: text: Naples

question: Whose son died on the way to Palermo and is buried there?
answers: text: Charles III

question: What treaty caused the Savoy to loose Sicily?

question: Where was Charles the II crowned King of Sicily?

question: What court resided in Palermo?

question: Who took refuge in Palermo in the 17th century?

question: What became the capital of the Two Sicilies after Naples?
context: After the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Sicily was handed over to the Savoia, but by 1734 it was again a Bourbon possession. Charles III chose Palermo for his coronation as King of Sicily. Charles had new houses built for the growing population, while trade and industry grew as well. However, by now Palermo was now just another provincial city as the Royal Court resided in Naples. Charles' son Ferdinand, though disliked by the population, took refuge in Palermo after the French Revolution in 1798. His son Alberto died on the way to Palermo and is buried in the city. When the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was founded, the original capital city was Palermo (1816) but a year later moved to Naples.

qas: question: Who led the first insurrection in Europe in 1848?
answers: text: Giuseppe La Masa

question: Who was the first president of Palermo?
answers: text: Ruggero Settimo

question: Who regained control of Palermo in 1849?
answers: text: The Bourbons

question: Sicily and Palermo became part of what Kingdom in 1861?
answers: text: Kingdom of Italy

question: Who led an insurrection in the 18th century?

question: Who was the first president of Palermo?

question: Who reconqured Palermo in the 18th century?

question: What general lead the Bourbons?
context: From 1820 to 1848 Sicily was shaken by upheavals, which culminated on 12 January 1848, with a popular insurrection, the first one in Europe that year, led by Giuseppe La Masa. A parliament and constitution were proclaimed. The first president was Ruggero Settimo. The Bourbons reconquered Palermo in 1849, and remained under their rule until the time of Giuseppe Garibaldi. The famous general entered Palermo with his troops (the “Thousands”) on 27 May 1860. After the plebiscite later that year Palermo, along with the rest of Sicily, became part of the new Kingdom of Italy (1861).

qas: question: Who was blamed for the week long rebellion of 1866?
answers: text: anarchists and the Church, specifically the Archbishop of Palermo

question: Which families help to start cultural, industrial, and economic growth in Palermo?
answers: text: Florio, the Ducrot, the Rutelli, the Sandron, the Whitaker, the Utveggio

question: In what style were the villas in the new expanded Palermo?
answers: text: Art Nouveau

question: Which theatre was designed by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile ans opened in 1897?
answers: text: Teatro Massimo

question: Who prefered the Savoia kingdom to independence?

question: What was the seat of a rebellion in the 18th century?

question: What crushed the 18th century rebellion in Palermo?

question: What government enacted pro-sicilian policies?

question: Where did Palermo expand to in the early 2000's?
context: The majority of Sicilians preferred independence to the Savoia kingdom; in 1866, Palermo became the seat of a week-long popular rebellion, which was finally crushed after Martial law was declared. The Italian government blamed anarchists and the Church, specifically the Archbishop of Palermo, for the rebellion and began enacting anti-Sicilian and anti-clerical policies. A new cultural, economic and industrial growth was spurred by several families, like the Florio, the Ducrot, the Rutelli, the Sandron, the Whitaker, the Utveggio, and others. In the early twentieth century Palermo expanded outside the old city walls, mostly to the north along the new boulevards Via Roma, Via Dante, Via Notarbartolo, and Viale della Libertà. These roads would soon boast a huge number of villas in the Art Nouveau style. Many of these were designed by the famous architect Ernesto Basile. The Grand Hotel Villa Igiea, designed by Ernesto Basile for the Florio family, is a good example of Palermitan Art Nouveau. The huge Teatro Massimo was designed in the same period by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, and built by the Rutelli & Machì building firm of the industrial and old Rutelli Italian family in Palermo, and was opened in 1897.

qas: question: To what does the term "Sack of Palermo" refer?
answers: text: speculative building practices that have filled the city with poor buildings

question: Why did Palermo substancially grow in size?
answers: text: reduced importance of agriculture in the Sicilian economy has led to a massive migration to the cities

question: What did Palermo expansion lack?
answers: text: t parks, schools, public buildings, proper roads and the other amenities that characterise a modern city

question: What is the term for the building boom erected many fine buildings?

question: What has led to migration away from the cities?

question: What caused Palermo to expand to the south?

question: What was carefully followed during the boom?
context: The so-called "Sack of Palermo" is one of the major visible faces of the problem. The term is used to indicate the speculative building practices that have filled the city with poor buildings. The reduced importance of agriculture in the Sicilian economy has led to a massive migration to the cities, especially Palermo, which swelled in size, leading to rapid expansion towards the north. The regulatory plans for expansion was largely ignored in the boom. New parts of town appeared almost out of nowhere, but without parks, schools, public buildings, proper roads and the other amenities that characterise a modern city.

qas: question: What is Palermo's climate classification?
answers: text: hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa).

question: How do Palermo's temperatures compare to the rest of Europe?
answers: text: one of the warmest cities in Europe

question: How many did snow fall in Palermo between 1940and the 2000s?
answers: text: eleven

question: How much sun does Palermo see each year?
answers: text: 2,530 hours

question: What city has a moderate Mediterranean climate with very cold winters?

question: What is one of the warmest cities in the world?

question: What weather never occurs in Palermo?

question: What is too far away to protect the island from the heat?
context: Palermo experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). Winters are cool and wet, while summers are hot and dry. Temperatures in autumn and spring are usually mild. Palermo is one of the warmest cities in Europe (mainly due to its warm nights), with an average annual air temperature of 18.5 °C (65.3 °F). It receives approximately 2,530 hours of sunshine per year. Snow is usually a rare occurrence, but it does occur occasionally if there is a cold front, as the Apennines are too distant to protect the island from cold winds blowing from the Balkans, and the mountains surrounding the city facilite the formation of snow accumulation in Palermo, especially at night. Between the 1940s and the 2000s there have been eleven times when considerable snowfall has occurred: In 1949, in 1956, when the minimum temperature went down to 0 °C (32 °F) and the city was blanketed by several centimeters of snow. Snow also occurred in 1999, 2009 and 2015. The average annual temperature of the sea is above 19 °C (66 °F); from 14 °C (57 °F) in February to 26 °C (79 °F) in August. In the period from May to November, the average sea temperature exceeds 18 °C (64 °F) and in the period from June to October, the average sea temperature exceeds 21 °C (70 °F).

qas: question: Where does the first of Palermo's circuits suround?
answers: text: ancient core of the punic City - the so-called Palaeopolis (in the area east of Porta Nuova) and the Neopolis

question: What was the name of the primary east-west road within the walls of Palaeopolis?
answers: text: Via Vittorio Emanuele

question: On what road was the eastern edge of the walled city?
answers: text: Via Roma

question: What surrounds Palermo in a single circut?

question: On what road was the western edge of the walled city?

question: What was the name of the secondary east-west road within the walls of Palaepolis?
context: Palermo has at least 2 circuits of City Walls - many pieces of which still survive. The first circuit surrounded the ancient core of the punic City - the so-called Palaeopolis (in the area east of Porta Nuova) and the Neopolis. Via Vittorio Emanuele was the main road east-west through this early walled city. The eastern edge of the walled city was on Via Roma and the ancient port in the vicinity of Piazza Marina. The wall circuit was approximately Porto Nuovo, Corso Alberti, Piazza Peranni, Via Isodoro, Via Candela, Via Venezia, Via Roma, Piazza Paninni, Via Biscottari, Via Del Bastione, Palazzo dei Normanni and back to Porto Nuovo.

qas: question: What was the purpose of Castello a Mare?
answers: text: to protect the port at La Cala

question: What was used to block passage through the La Cala port?
answers: text: A huge chain

question: During which historical period was the wall circuit expanded?
answers: text: medieval

question: What was reduced in the medieval period?

question: What was nolonger the main east-west road?

question: What used to block the West gate?

question: What wall turns east along the western side?
context: In the medieval period the wall circuit was expanded. Via Vittorio Emanuele continued to be the main road east-west through the walled city. West gate was still Porta Nuova, the circuit continued to Corso Alberti, to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele Orlando where it turned east along Via Volturno to Piazza Verdi and along the line of Via Cavour. At this north-east corner there was a defence, Castello a Mare, to protect the port at La Cala. A huge chain was used to block La Cala with the other end at S Maria della Catena (St Mary of the Chain). The sea-side wall was along the western side of Foro Italico Umberto. The wall turns west along the northern side of Via Abramo Lincoln, continues along Corso Tukory. The wall turns north approximately on Via Benedetto, to Palazzo dei Normanni and back to Porta Nuova. Source: Palermo - City Guide by Adriana Chirco, 1998, Dario Flaccovio Editore.

qas: question: What is a heliometer?
answers: text: solar "observatory"

question: What name is given to the bronze line on the floor of a heliometer?
answers: text: la Meridiana

question: Which direction does la Meridiana run?
answers: text: precisely N/S

question: What image is projected on the floor of the heliometer?
answers: text: the sun

question: What has lunar observatory built in 1690?

question: was built in the 16th century?

question: What is the name of the gold line on the floor of a helimeter?

question: What image is projected onto the dome of the heliometer?

question: What signs are a tribute to pagean customs?
context: The cathedral has a heliometer (solar "observatory") of 1690, one of a number built in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The device itself is quite simple: a tiny hole in one of the minor domes acts as pinhole camera, projecting an image of the sun onto the floor at solar noon (12:00 in winter, 13:00 in summer). There is a bronze line, la Meridiana on the floor, running precisely N/S. The ends of the line mark the positions as at the summer and winter solstices; signs of the zodiac show the various other dates throughout the year.

qas: question: How many people were living in the Palermo area in 2010?
answers: text: 1.2 million

question: What percentage of Palermo residents were female in 2010?
answers: text: 52.6%

question: What is the average age of a Palermo resident?
answers: text: 40.4

question: Why has Palermo's population declined from 2001 to 2010?
answers: text: population flight to the suburbs

question: In what year were there 1.2 million homes in the Palermo area?

question: What is 47.4% female?

question: Who's average age is 42.8 in Palermo?

question: What has increased in Palermo from 2001 to 2010?

question: Who has a slightly higher birth rate than Palermo?
context: In 2010, there were 1.2 million people living in the greater Palermo area, 655,875 of which resided in the City boundaries, of whom 47.4% were male and 52.6% were female. People under age 15 totalled 15.6% compared to pensioners who composed 17.2% of the population. This compares with the Italian average of 14.1% people under 15 years and 20.2% pensioners. The average age of a Palermo resident is 40.4 compared to the Italian average of 42.8. In the ten years between 2001 and 2010, the population of Palermo declined by 4.5%, while the population of Italy, as a whole, grew by 6.0%. The reason for Palermo's decline is a population flight to the suburbs, and to Northern Italy. The current birth rate of Palermo is 10.2 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.3 births.

qas: question: On what does Palermo's economy rely?
answers: text: tourism and services, but also has commerce, shipbuilding and agriculture

question: Palermo is the home of what mafia?
answers: text: the Sicilian Mafia

question: Has the level of crime in Palermo risen or declined?
answers: text: gone down dramatically

question: What negative qualities does Palermo carry?
answers: text: high unemployment levels, high corruption and a significant black market empire

question: What is Italy's administrative capital?

question: What mostly depends shipbuilding and agriculture?

question: Why has the black market declined in Palermo?

question: What has caused crime to go up in Palermo?

question: What has made the city more dangerouse to live in?
context: Being Sicily's administrative capital, Palermo is a centre for much of the region's finance, tourism and commerce. The city currently hosts an international airport, and Palermo's economic growth over the years has brought the opening of many new businesses. The economy mainly relies on tourism and services, but also has commerce, shipbuilding and agriculture. The city, however, still has high unemployment levels, high corruption and a significant black market empire (Palermo being the home of the Sicilian Mafia). Even though the city still suffers from widespread corruption, inefficient bureaucracy and organized crime, the level of crime in Palermo's has gone down dramatically, unemployment has been decreasing and many new, profitable opportunities for growth (especially regarding tourism) have been introduced, making the city safer and better to live in.

qas: question: Which port is Sicily's primary port?
answers: text: The port of Palermo

question: How many passengers travel by Palermo ferry annually?
answers: text: 2 million

question: How many passengers do Palermo's ferries carry each year?
answers: text: 2 million

question: For what is the "tourist marina" dedicated?
answers: text: sailing yachts and catamarans

question: What cities do the ferries of Palermo travel to?
answers: text: Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Naples, Tunis

question: What is the main port of Italy?

question: What cities are linked by roads?

question: Where does traffic include 80tons of cargo?

question: What section of the port is for the mafia?
context: The port of Palermo, founded by the Phoenicians over 2,700 years ago, is, together with the port of Messina, the main port of Sicily. From here ferries link Palermo to Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Naples, Tunis and other cities and carry a total of almost 2 million passengers annually. It is also an important port for cruise ships. Traffic includes also almost 5 million tonnes of cargo and 80.000 TEU yearly. The port also has links to minor sicilian islands such as Ustica and the Aeolian Islands (via Cefalù in summer). Inside the Port of Palermo there is a section known as "tourist marina" for sailing yachts and catamarans.

qas: question: Who is the popular patron saint of Palermo?
answers: text: Santa Rosalia

question: When is Palermo's most important religious event of the year held?
answers: text: 14 July

question: Who is said to have ended the Black Death in 1624?
answers: text: Santa Rosalia

question: What is The Festino?
answers: text: procession which goes through the main street of Palermo to commemorate the miracle attributed to Santa Rosalia

question: Who is the patron saint of Italy?

question: Who ended the Black Death in the 16th century?

question: When is Palermo's most important secular celebration?

question: Who banished the plague from the city before dying themselves?
context: The patron saint of Palermo is Santa Rosalia, who is widely revered. On 14 July, people in Palermo celebrate the annual Festino, the most important religious event of the year. The Festino is a procession which goes through the main street of Palermo to commemorate the miracle attributed to Santa Rosalia who, it is believed, freed the city from the Black Death in 1624. Her remains were discovered in a cave on Monte Pellegrino, and her remains were carried around the city three times, banishing the plague. There is a sanctuary marking the spot where her remains were found which can be reached via a scenic bus ride from the city.