Mondello

Mondello is a suburb ( quarters ) of Palermo. It lies north of Mount Pellegrino on the bay between Monte Pellegrino and Monte Gallo.

History

Originally Mondello was a fishing village, from which a fortification tower from the 15th century is still preserved. It was at the northern end of the bay. At the beginning of the 20th century built their villas here rich Palermo. Some of the buildings in the Art Nouveau style have been preserved, such as the Villa Dagnino (1914 ), the villa Pojero (1915 ) and the Kurhaus ( stabilimento balneare, 1912) in the sea. Villino Gregorietti, which was based on a design by Ernesto Basile built on the Piazza Valdesi 1923, is the last building in this style. After the Second World War, tourism increased by leaps and bounds. However, Mondello has retained its character as a garden city substantially.

Presence

The place is now known primarily as a seaside resort with a 1.5 km long sandy beach which is very popular with the Palermitans itself except for tourists. Some guide books describe the beach as much crowded.

From Mondello, there are two entrances to the adjacent nature reserve Riserva naturale Orientata Capo Gallo.

Events

Since 2001, every year in May, the World Festival on the Beach instead of competitions in various water sports, beach volleyball and a music program.

The internationally acclaimed literary prize Premio Internazionale Mondello Letterario, which was founded in 1975 and is now managed by the Fondazione Banco di Sicilia in conjunction with the municipality of Palermo was handed over annually until 2007 in November in Mondello.

In October 2008, the world championship of 505 sailing dinghy was held in Mondello.