- Accomodations
- Travel to Palermo
- Sala De Seta - Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa
- Social Activities
- The City
- Restaurants
Accomodations
For the BITS2019 a list of suggested accommodations was created.
We invite the attendants to BITS2019 to book their accomodation in Palermo at their earliest convenience.
A number of rooms have been prebooked for partecipants to BITS2019 until June 11th.
Click here to select your hotel
All reservation must be guaranteed with credit card. Cancellation without penalty up to 4 days from the date of arrival within 12.00; from 3 days before the day of arrival the 50% of the total amount will be charged. For later cancellations or in case of no-show the entire period will be charged. You don’t need to prepay. However, the property may temporarily hold an amount on the card you provided or pre-authorize your card, just to test it and guarantee your booking. This test payment will be returned to you.
A special accommodation rate is reserved for PhD students at “Hotel de France”. Please, click here for further information.
Travel to Palermo
By air - Falcone Borsellino Airport (former "Punta Raisi Airport")
Palermo Airport is 35 km from the city centre. From the airport, the centre can be reached by bus, taxi or train. An intermediate solution between bus and taxi is taxi sharing, thanks to which you can travel in a taxi shared with other passengers at a much cheaper rate.
- International Airport "Falcone Borsellino" official web site with real time updates, connections with Palermo and neighbor cities
By rail
The Palermo airport has a railway station located in the basement that connects the passenger terminal with the central station "Palermo Centrale". There are two trains per hour, which lead directly into the city. The journey time between "Punta Raisi" airport and "Palermo Centrale" station is 56 or 71 minutes, depending on the number of stops made by the train. The first train leaves the airport at 5:15 am, the last one at 00:25 the next day. The ticket price starts at € 5.90, with discounts for children, families and small groups.
By bus
The cheapest way to reach the centre of Palermo is the Airport-Central bus shuttle of the "Autolinee Prestia e Comandè" company. The shuttle bus to the Palermo airport makes a total of 11 stops, almost all in the city centre, which include both the station and the port. From the city of Palermo to the airport the first ride is at 4 am, while the last one is at 22.30, with runs every 30 minutes. From the airport to the centre the first ride is at 5 am, the second at 6.30 and then a ride every half hour until 11.30 pm. The last ride is at 00.15. The price of the one-way ticket is € 6.30 while the return ticket costs € 11; you can save one euro by purchasing a return ticket online or via the app. It is also possible to buy the ticket inside the passenger terminal or directly on the bus.
By taxi
The taxi service from the airport is active in conjunction with flight arrival times. The taxi rank is located at the exit of the Arrivals area. If there is no taxi available, you can book one by calling the "Cooperativa Trinacria" at the numbers +39 091 225455 and +39 091 6878 or the "Cooperativa Autoradio Taxi" at numbers +39 091 513311 and +39 091 8481 or contact the TAXI information desk outside the area Arrivals. The estimated waiting time is approximately 20 minutes. The fixed fares from the airport to the centre of Palermo are as follows: Viale Michelangelo / Viale Lazio area: € 35 Corso Calatafimi area / Corso Vittorio Emanuele € 40 Central station / Brancaccio area € 45. Before starting the race, it is advisable to confirm the fare with the driver and inquire about possible surcharges.
By taxi sharing
At the Palermo airport there is also a useful taxi sharing service that combines the convenience of a bus with the convenience of a taxi. In practice these are shared taxis that apply a convenient rate of 8 euros per passenger, upon reaching a minimum of 4 users. The service is offered by the Cooperativa Trinacria and Cooperativa Autoradio Taxi, the same ones that offer private taxi service. If you want to choose the cheapest option, be careful not to confuse and head to the waiting stall specifically for taxi sharing, which is well marked.
Sala De Seta - Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa
The "Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa" (former Officine Ducrot) are a former industrial area of Palermo. Together with the former Chemistry Arenella are the two main examples of industrial archaeology in Palermo. The structure was built to host the Ducrot workshops and the Ducrot Studio and includes 23 sheds. Today this area is used as an exhibition space for theatrical, musical, cinematographic events and cultural initiatives of all kinds.
You can reach the event venue by foot from Lolli station: take the train from Punta Raisi airport to Lolli station (about 1 hour) and then walk to the Zisa cultural sites (about 13 min). Alternatively, you can reach it from the city center, in particular from Piazza Castelnuovo (Politeama) taking the bus 106 to Piazza Principe di Camporeale (about 11 min) and then on foot (6 min), or from the central station (Piazza Giulio Cesare) by regional train to Lolli station (about 14 min) and then by foot (about 13 min).
How to reach Cantieri Culturali della Zisa from Metro Station Lolli
By walk (15-20 minutes):
1) go direction Piazza Stazione Lolli and reach via Dante Alighieri
2) after 550 mt turn left to via Serradifalco
3) after 140 mt turn right to Piazza Principe di Camporeale
4) stay on your right and after 35 mt turn left to Via Paolo Gili and walk for 200 mt
By bus (12 minutes):
1) go direction Piazza Stazione Lolli by walk and reach via Dante Alighieri (7 minutes by walk)
2) reach "parcheggio Emiri" bus stop and take bus n.106 in Via Dante Alighieri (bus ticket costs 1.40 euro with a frequency of 20 minutes)
3) get off at the bus stop number 3 (Bus stop's name is "Piazza Camporeale")(duration of the route: 11 minutes)
4) by walk go direction Piazza Principe di Camporeale (3 minutes by walk)
5) stay on your right and after 35 mt turn left to Via Paolo Gili and walk for 200 mt
Social Activities
The Social Activity will be on June, 27th from 7 pm. A guided tour of Teatro Massimo in which participants will explore the stunning auditorium, with its golden stuccoes, wooden decorations, velvet and glass. Teatro Massimo is the third largest opera house in Europe, and it contains some impressive halls, such as the Pompeian hall, called "Echo Room" for its perfect acoustics.
Another awesome element is the symbolic wheel overlooking the auditorium represented like a giant flower with eleven petals that, through a system of ropes, can open up to let the hot air out and ventilate the room.
The Conference Dinner will take place at the restaurant Bistrot of the Teatro Massimo. The dinner will start at 8 pm. Traditional Sicilian dishes with a flavour of new creative cuisine will be served.
How to reach the Teatro Massimo
The Teatro Massimo is located at the very centre of Palermo, in Piazza Verdi.
It is a five-minute walk from Piazza Ruggero Settimo and the Capo open-air market, a ten-minute walk from the Quattro Canti, a fifteen-minute walk from the central railway station, the harbour and the Cathedral.
How to reach Teatro Massimo from Cantieri Culturali della Zisa
By walk (35 minutes):
1) Take Via Paolo Gili and after 200 mt turn right to Piazza principe di Camporeale
2) turn left and reach Via Serradifalco
3) after 140 mt right and go to Via Dante Alighieri
4) after 1.2 km turn right and go to Piazza castelnuovo (Piazza Ruggiero Settimo)
5) walk to Via ruggiero Settimo until Piazza Verdi (Teatro Massimo)
By bus (20 minutes):
1) Take Via Paolo Gili and after 200 mt turn right to Piazza principe di Camporeale
2) in piazza Principe di camporeale take bus n.106 direction STADIO, and get off at the bus stop number 6 (Bus stop's name is "Paternostro - Villafranca")(duration of the route: 9 minutes)
3) walk untill the crossroad with Via Ruggiero Settimo
4) Once arrived in Via Ruggiero Settimo turn right and walk untill Piazza Verdi (teatro Massimo)
The City
Palermo is the regional capital of Sicily, the largest island and the heart of the Mediterranean. Palermo is located in the northwestern part of the island and is well connected through its international airport.
The city is renowned throughout the world for its history and its many dominations, which make Palermo a rich and interesting city both from an architectural and gastronomic point of view.
First Greek and Roman city, then Arab capital, later conquered by Normans and Swabians, this is Palermo, a place where Arabian and Norman preciousness coexist, baroque taste and freedom of monuments, palaces and theaters, but also of gardens and of the markets. The influence of the multiethnic past of Palermo is particularly visible in the Cathedral, a majestic building begun in the twelfth century. and repeatedly altered, enriched by an eighteenth-century dome and a medieval bell tower, as well as a representative symbol of the city and the Arab-Norman style.
Palermo has a sunny Mediterranean climate. From April to October, during the high season, it is hot. The temperatures in June reach up to 28 ° C. In the evening the temperature drops to 20 ° C. So the average temperature is 24 ° C.
The congress will be held at the Zisa Cultural Sites, in Via Paolo Gili 4.
