The venue
The conference is held at the NH Palermo, a four-star hotel on the Foro Italico seafront, at the edge of the historical centre and next to the Kalsa district; the Botanical Garden, where the welcome cocktail takes place, is about five minutes away on foot. Address: Foro Italico Umberto I 22/B, 90133 Palermo, tel. +39 091 6165090 (Google Maps).
Palermo
Palermo was founded by Phoenician traders in 734 BC and has since been shaped by Carthaginian, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Spanish rule, each period leaving its mark on the city's architecture, cuisine and traditions. Under the Arab emirate (831–1072) it grew into one of the great cities of the Mediterranean; in 1130 it became the capital of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and the centuries of Spanish government that followed gave it its Baroque churches and squares. Byzantine mosaics stand a few streets away from Baroque oratories and neoclassical theatres.
The blend of Western, Islamic and Byzantine building traditions of the Norman period is the basis of the UNESCO World Heritage site Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale, inscribed in 2015. Several of its nine monuments, including the Cathedral and the Palatine Chapel, are within walking distance of the congress venue.
Today Palermo is the fifth largest city in Italy, with about 630,000 inhabitants. Its historic centre, one of the largest in Europe, stretches between the Norman palace and the sea, and its street markets, Ballarò, Capo and Vucciria, are attractions in their own right. The coast is part of daily life: the sandy bay of Mondello, about 10 km north of the centre, is easily reached by bus or taxi. Late September is a pleasant time to visit, with average daytime highs around 27 °C and nights around 20 °C.
Getting to Palermo and to the venue
Falcone Borsellino Airport (PMO), also known as Punta Raisi, lies about 35 km west of the city. Four options connect it with the centre.
Shuttle bus
Prestia e Comandè
RouteAirport – Via Libertà – Politeama – Via Roma 289 – Stazione Centrale (terminus)
FrequencyEvery 30 minutes, daily; journey about 50 minutes
From airportFirst 05:05, last 01:05
To airportFrom Stazione Centrale, first 03:30, last 21:30
FareOne way €6.00 online, €6.50 on board; return €10.00 online, €11.00 on board
Train
Trenitalia
RouteRegional trains from the Palermo Aeroporto station, under the terminal, to Palermo Centrale
FrequencyOne to two trains per hour; 35 to 60 minutes depending on the number of stops
FareOne way €6.80
Taxi
Fixed fares by zone
Journey35 to 40 minutes to the centre
FareFixed fares by destination zone, about €45–50 for the historic centre; check the applicable fare with the driver before departure
Shared taxi
Taxi sharing
How it works€10 per passenger, applied with a minimum of four passengers; two marked platforms in the arrivals area. Operators recommend booking 24 to 48 hours in advance
OperatorsRadio Taxi Trinacria: tel. +39 091 6878, WhatsApp +39 331 4296956, 6878.it
Autoradiotaxi Palermo: tel. +39 091 8481, WhatsApp +39 331 3284403, taxi-palermo.it
Private transfer
Door to door
How it worksA driver meets you at arrivals and takes you directly to your hotel
FareTypically €40–60 per vehicle; bookable online through platforms such as Viator or GetYourGuide
Car rental
At the airport
How it worksMajor companies, including Hertz, Avis and Europcar, have desks at the airport. A car is useful for exploring the surroundings, less so in the city: the historic centre has restricted traffic zones and limited parking
Coming from the airport by bus or train, get off at the Stazione Centrale terminus, the closest stop to the venue: from there the hotel is about 1.1 km on foot along Via Lincoln, 14 minutes, or a short taxi ride.
City buses are run by AMAT: a 90-minute ticket costs €1.40 (€1.80 if bought on board), a day pass €3.50. Line 101 connects Stazione Centrale with Via Roma, the Politeama area and Via Libertà, and is the most useful line for reaching the modern centre; board it at the Stazione Centrale terminus, about 1.1 km from the hotel (marked on the map below). Routes and service updates: amat.pa.it.
Congress map
Tuesday 22 September 2026 · 19:00-20:30
Welcome Cocktail
Talea Orto Botanico, Via Lincoln 2 · about 450 m from the venue, 6 minutes on foot · Google Maps
Thursday 24 September 2026 · 20:30
Social Dinner
Palazzo Fatta, Piazza Marina 19 · about 850 m from the venue, 11 minutes on foot · Google Maps
Congress venue
Social events
Bus 101 (Stazione Centrale)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. All walking distances on this page are approximate, measured from the NH Palermo.
Within walking distance of the venue
The venue stands where the Kalsa, the old harbour quarter, meets the sea. Much of monumental Palermo can be reached on foot along Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Lincoln.
Foro Italicoat the venue · Map Seafront promenade first laid out in 1582, today a wide public lawn along the water; it runs in front of the hotel.
Villa Giulia400 m · 5 min · Map Public garden opened in 1778, with four exedras and the Genio di Palermo statue by Ignazio Marabitti; adjacent to the Botanical Garden.
Botanical garden of the University of Palermo, on this site since 1786: about 10 hectares and over 12,000 species, including a giant Ficus macrophylla planted in 1845. Venue of the welcome cocktail.
Fifteenth-century palace by Matteo Carnelivari housing the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, with Antonello da Messina's Annunciata and the Triumph of Death fresco.
Santa Maria dello Spasimo500 m · 7 min · Map Roofless church in the Kalsa, begun in 1509 and never completed; Raphael painted the Spasimo di Sicilia for it, now in the Prado. Used today for open-air events.
Porta Felice600 m · 8 min · Map Monumental gate at the sea end of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, built between 1582 and 1637, with a Renaissance inner front and a Baroque front towards the water.
Museum of the Sicilian pupi and of puppet traditions from around the world; the Sicilian puppet theatre is inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage list.
Palazzo Chiaramonte (Steri)700 m · 9 min · Map Fortified palace begun in 1307 for the Chiaramonte family, later seat of the Inquisition tribunal; today the rectorate of the University of Palermo.
Piazza Marina850 m · 11 min · Map Square laid out over the silted medieval harbour; the Giardino Garibaldi at its centre holds a monumental Ficus macrophylla. Palazzo Fatta, the social dinner venue, faces the square.
San Francesco d'Assisi1 km · 13 min · Map Gothic basilica begun in 1224; its Mastrantonio Chapel is regarded as the earliest Renaissance work in Sicily.
La Martorana and San Cataldo1.3 km · 17 min · Map Two twelfth-century churches side by side on Piazza Bellini, both part of the Arab-Norman UNESCO site.
Vucciria1.4 km · 19 min · Map Historic market area around Piazza Caracciolo, today known above all for its evening life.
Piazza Pretoria1.5 km · 20 min · Map Sixteenth-century fountain crowded with marble figures, in front of Palazzo delle Aquile, the city hall.
Quattro Canti1.5 km · 20 min · Map Baroque octagon at the crossing of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda, built 1608 to 1620, with fountains of the seasons and statues of Spanish kings and the city's patron saints.
Ballarò market1.9 km · 26 min · Map Street market of the Albergheria district, the oldest of Palermo's historic markets.
Founded in 1185 and reworked over six centuries; it holds the porphyry tombs of Roger II and Frederick II. Part of the Arab-Norman UNESCO site; the roof terraces can be visited.
Capo market2.1 km · 28 min · Map Street market along Via Sant'Agostino and Porta Carini, behind the Teatro Massimo.
Italy's largest opera house, opened in 1897 with Verdi's Falstaff; guided tours run daily.
Royal palace of the Norman kings, today seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly; the Palatine Chapel, with its mosaics and wooden muqarnas ceiling, is the best-known component of the UNESCO site.
