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Useful General Information
Congress Venue
Featuring fragrant terraced gardens, panoramic views of the sparkling Bay of Palermo and Mount Pellegrino the Villia Igiea Hilton is a magnificent example of Art Nouveau and a well suited venue for international conferences.
Address
Salita Belmonte, 43, Palermo (Phone: 091 631 21 41)Villa Igiea will host both FIGIPAS 2009 plenary and parallel sessions.
Conference halls
Plenary hall (Centro congressi)
Belle Epoque Hall
Transportation
To reach your hotel downtown from Palermo's airport:
Bus: Prestia & Comandé
Frequency: every half hour (4.00 am-11.00 pm)
Route: Leaves from the Airport heading Palermo's Central Station. It stops several times in Palermo. Please ask the bus driver when to get off telling the name of your hotel
One way ticket: € 5,60 (please ensure you have change available as the driver -- who issues the ticket directly on board -- oftenrefuses to sell tickets facing 50 or 100 Eur banknotes).Train: Trenitalia Trinacria Express
Frequency: every half hour
One way ticket: € 5,50Taxi: From 6 am through 12 pm
One way: € 45,00To reach Villia Igia Hilton by bus proceed either to Palermo's Central Station or to Piazza Mordini.
Bus Lines no. 721 (from Piazza Mordini, also named Piazza Croci) and no. 139 (from Central Station)
Frequency: each 30 minutes (line 721) and each 18 minutes (line 139)
Suggested morning departure: h. 7.55 (from Piazza Mordini) and h. 8.01 (from Central Station)You can buy bus tickets at the bus company (Amat) kiosks as well as in tobacconists and newspaper kiosks.
Taxi
Phone: 091 513 311 (Autoradiotaxi)
Phone: 091 225 455 (Radiotaxi Trinacria)Taxi in Palermo are generally cheap and delegates can conveniently take the cab in group.
Bicycle
Some 50 last-generation bicycles are available for rental. To reserve a bike and find it directly at your hotel, please contact Ms. Daniela Messina at DMessina@servizitalia.it (Phone: +39 091 625 04 53)Roadmap
Villa Igiea is located 2.7 km from the city center. To reach the Hotel from Palermo's downtwon on foot use the following roadmap connecting Palermo’s downtown (A, Piazza Castelnuovo; also named Piazza Politeama) to Villa Igiea (B).
Take a bath in Palermo's Sea
You or your accompanying person may be willing to take a bath in the sea of Palermo during the hot July days of the conference. One option is Mondello's beach, about 7 km faraway from Palermo. The beach, however, will be very crowded.
Instead, proceed a bit further to the Capo Gallo Natural Reserve and enjoy a bath in blue, crystalline water (click on the right picture to enlarge the image).
Social Program
Social Dinner (Thursday, July 2). A dinner at Villa Igiea Hilton for all the participants and accompanying persons willing to take part in it (70 € each).
Half-day tour (Friday, July 3). An excursion through Palermo's magnificent monuments for the the participants and accompanying persons willing to take part in it (50 € each). Tour departure at 15.00 from the Politeama Garibaldi Theater in Piazza Castelnuovo.
The guided tour starts from the Cathedral of Monreale, which was built in 1174 by the Norman king William II, and is the symbol of a sophisticated mixture of Arab, Byzantine and Romanesque architectural styles. The visit continues to the Arab-styled cloister located next to the Cathedral where lights and shades depict the elegant marble columns decorated with golden tesserae. After Monreale, the tour continues to the Norman Royal Palace in Palermo. The palace was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily, William II’s grandfather, who transformed the remains of a Roman fortress into a sumptuous building. The mosaic decors of the Throne Room were made by Byzantine artists, who used the same type of decorations and narrative style also in the Palatine Chapel, where biblical scenes, geometrical patterns and exquisite court scenes in Persian style alternate on the precious wooden ceiling.
Saint John the Hermit (San Giovanni degli Eremiti) is another fine example of 12th century Norman construction Palermo built upon a mosque which accounts for its particularly Arabic style, with five reddish cupolas. The bell tower is the only part of the building that has a distinctively Norman appearance, with its Gothic lines and mullioned windows. Were it not for the bell tower, Saint John's could easily be mistaken for a mosque. Then we visit the Palermo's Cathedral constructed in various architectural styles throughout the Roman, Norman, Arabic, and Islamic dominations. The tour ends at about 18.30 at the Politeama Garibaldi.
Climate
Weather in July is usually very warm and sunny (30-35°C).Check personally the weather situation and forecast.
Accommodation
Hotel accommodation can be reserved at preferential rates in Palermo hotels with which the Organizing Secretariat has negotiated special rates. Early reservation is highly recommended to take advantage of the special rates negotiated for the Congress.
Language
The official language of the conference will be English.
No simultaneous translation will be provided.Passport and Visas
All non-residents of the EU are required to have a valid passport.
Participants should check regarding visa requirements for travel to Italy. Applications should be made to the nearest Italian Embassy or Consulate as soon as possible. Citizens of member states of the European Union and the USA do not need visas.Insurance and Liability
Participants are advised to arrange whatever insurance they consider necessary. No responsibility can be assumed by the Congress for personal accidents, sickness, theft, or property damage suffered by the participants.
Electricity
The electrical current is 220 volts, 50 Hz.Banking
Bank hours are Monday - Friday 8:30 - 13:30 and 15:45 - 16:30. Bank are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.Currency
Since the beginning of 2002 the EURO is the official currency in Italy. 1 Euro = 100 Cents.
Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 Cents; 1, 2 Euros
Banknotes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 Euros The Euro is usually abbreviated as EUR. The symbol of the Euro is €.Money can be changed at the airport, at banks, exchange bureaus, and larger hotels.
For a cash advance, credit cards and Maestro-cards can be used at cash dispensers (Bancomat) which are available all over the city.
Shopping
Typical shopping hours are Monday to Saturday 9:00 - 13:00 and 16:30 - 20:00. Apart from some tobacconists and small supermarkets at petrol stations and at the main railway stations, shops are closed on Sundays. Luxury shops with an elegant clientele can be found in city downtown (via Libertà, via Ruggiero Settimo and via Maqueda).
Travelling to Palermo (or to Catania)
Several airlines operate regular flights to Palermo's "Falcone e Borsellino" airport, where a train shuttle commutes between the airport and Palermo leaving every 50 minutes. Many of such international and national flights are operated by low cost companies, including Ryanair, Wind Jet, Blu Express, Hapag LLoyd, MyAir, Transavia.
In alternative, you may fly to Catania's airport, where a bus from Sais Autolinee commutes between the airport and Palermo, leaving every three times per day.
Palermo and Sicily
Palermo is a 2,700 years old city with about 600,000 inhabitants. Entirely built in front of the sea, it has gone through Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Norman, German, Spanish, French and Italian domination which resulted in a unique mix of cultures well reflected by the magnificent cultural heritage of the city.
"The essential charms of this mysterious and intoxicating city -- has written Ariel Forman in The New York Times -- thankfully remain intact".
Perhaps not surprisingly given its history, Palermo has a rich and old scientific tradition. In chemistry, in particular, Palermo is the city of Stanislao Cannizzaro and of Giuseppe Oddo. The University’s organic chemistry Department currently hosts one of Italy’s most cited research chemists (G. Savona) while the CNR has achieved relevant results in a number of different fields of contemporary chemical research.
Testifying to this are the different urban strata that have changed the face of the city over the centuries. The city's name derives from the Greek and means "all port", to indicate the width of the approach and the importance of this trading post. In fact, Palermo was founded by the Phoenicians, probably in the eighth century BC. Fortified and surrounded by defensive walls, in the fifth century BC it became the most important Carthaginian stronghold on the island.
After the Roman conquest, the barbarian invasions and Byzantine domination, then under the Arabs, who arrived in 831, Palermo became the capital of the autonomous emirate of Sicily and one of the busiest emporia of the Mediterranean. In the successive Norman period, the work of Byzantine, Arab and Latin craftsmen again transformed the architectural and urban fabric of the centre and the whole province, as the beautiful Palatine chapel and the Monreale cathedral testify. Finally, between the sixteenth and seventeenth century a new period of reconstruction occurred, that enriched the churches, palaces and monuments. The current face of this modern metropolis of the South is that of a mighty and mysterious city, enclosed in the labyrinth of Arabian lanes, in the magnificence of palaces and sanctuaries, in art treasures, in the charm of natural scenery, and in the unchanging values of ancient craft and food tradition.
Located at the center of Mediterranean sea, the island of Sicily is Italy’s largest region. It has 5 million inhabitants and hosts an enormously varied and important cultural heritage. Since 1947, it has an autonomous democratic government with a huge budget (25bn euro).
Some 15 nice small islands complement the travel experience in Sicily. The Aeolian volcanic islands (directly connected to Palermo); the Egadi islands, Ustica and Pantelleria, (connected to Trapani and Palermo); and the Pelagian isles (connected to Agrigento). All deserve a visit to their blue seas and prehistoric remnants.
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