Since the mosaics and the skeletons of Palermo have their own pages, the only things the places on this page have in common is that they are in Palermo but come in neither category.
The church of San Catoldo is right next to the Martorana [see mosaics page] and contrasts with the sumptuous splendour of that church by its own complete internal simplicity. Actually this somehow manages to be immensely striking! The exterior is noticeable by its bright red domes.
Another church - or rather ex-church - worth visiting is San Giovanni degli Eremeti, near to the Norman Palace. This is obviously of Arab origin and contains a number of domes. Oddly it is possibly the garden which has run wild, among the graceful cloisters, which gives this its particular appeal.
The Museo Archeologico Regionale contains the sorts of collections of Greek and Roman work that you would expect in Palermo and the Selinunte room is a knockout. This is not purpose built, having been a convent originally and suffered mightily from bomb damage - but the illustrations of its history certainly add to its appeal.
La Zisa, reached by the 124 bus, seemed to me grotesquely overated; it is OK as an old Arabic remain but to compare it with the Alhambra is farcical - it is just not in that league and the claim that it is detracts from its appeal which is a pity as it does have some.
Monte Pellegrino is reached by bus 812 from fairly near the tourist information centre. It has a rather odd timetable and you are best finding out in advance if possible. The virtue of the fairly short ridee would be hard to overstate, twisting through fine woodland with glorious views of the coast. I am sure the walk up to the top and the view would be quite magnificent but sadly my health was not up to that. To my mind the Sanctuario de Santa Rosalia, at the bus terminal, is absolutely dreadful and the gorup of tat- selling stalls which it has attracted does nothing for the place either. However , even if you cannot get to the top of the mountain the virtue of the ride easily compensates for the dreadfulness of the sanctuary. I did not go in!
Perhaps I was lucky to have excellent views into the port area from the bus on my way in as parts of it are said to be a bit on the undesirable side.