Palermo’s main “corso,” or avenue, is the Via Vittorio Emanuele. Like most Italian cities, this principal thoroughfare cuts prominently through the metropolis. Pictured is my view of it from the balcony at the Eurostars Centrale Palace Hotel, where I stayed at last year to test it for you! (NB No public ratings here, you’ll have to be an official client to know my thoughts on how the beds were, if the breakfast buffet was all that, how the quality of the staff’s service was, and if I thought the sauna was worth the extra fee… but I digress. Back to our regular programming…) Now, a bit of history: Italy is a young country, founded in 1861. His Majesty Vittorio Emanuele (1820-1878), who was the King of Sardinia, from the House of Savoy, became the first King of Italy after the unification of all of the separate kingdoms and Papal States (Forgive me, I’m over simplifying this to keep this concise.), hence why he gets to have his name on dozens of important streets throughout the country. 

Another common street name in Italy: Corso Umberto I. Do you know who he was?