The city of Palermo is the most well known city of Sicilia outside the island, mostly due to the Maffia aka Mob. It is also the city with the most interesting underground sites, which includes water supply systems, catacombs and even caves. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians, after many wars between Phoenicians, Carthage, Greek city states, and the Romans it became finally Roman like the rest of the island. Then it was under Arab, Norman and Swabian rule. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily, which lasted from 1130 to 1816.
Palermo lies in a basin, formed by the Papireto, Kemonia and Oreto rivers, two of them are completely underground. There are numerous water supply canals locally called quanats, as they were originally created under Arab rule. The numerous surrounding hills are karstified and have caves, the karst aquifer is the source of the city’s drinking water. One of the karst springs is open to the public on special days.