Year of foundation: 1806
Approx. number of students: 49,000
Period of study: Early October-End January; Early March-End June
MCI partner since: 2014
The City
Palermo is the capital of the autonmous region Sicily in Italy. 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.
Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitan culture. The patron saint of the city is Saint Rosalia. Her feast day on July 15 is perhaps the biggest social event in the city. The area attracts significant numbers of tourists each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish market at the heart of Palermo, known as the Vucciria. Palermo has approx. 650,000 inhabitants.
The University
The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its earliest roots date back to 1498 when medicine and law were taught there. Today, the University has grown to be an institution of about 2000 lecturers and 50,000 students in which research in all main fields of study is carried out. In the past few years the university has actively taken part in international cooperation programmes. 