King Philip of Spain visits Sicily as part of a European meeting of the Cotec Foundation. On the day before the congress, the Spanish king visited Palermo on foot, and together with the Italian and Portuguese presidents he discovered the sights.
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The King of Spain walks through the capital of Sicily
On June 27, 2023, the Cotec Europa 2023 event will be hosted by Teatro Massimo in Palermo. The congress brings together the international branches of Kotec Foundation, which promote innovation as an engine of economic and social development. The foundation was launched by King Juan Carlos in 1990, who remained its founding president, and opened a branch in Portugal and another in Italy.
The day before the congress that brought together the Cotec branches of Spain, Italy and Portugal, King Felipe marched on Palermo. This city of 660,000 inhabitants is located northwest of the island of Sicily. Palermo is the capital of the province of Palermo and the capital of the region of Sicily.
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Visiting Palermo before the Kotech Foundation meeting
The city tour started at Palermo Cathedral where King Philip met Presidents Sergio Mattarella and Marcelo Rebelo de Souza, the Italian President and the Portuguese President respectively. And the Archbishop of Palermo, Corrado Lorevich, was waiting for them in front of the cathedral to accompany them during their visit.
After visiting the cathedral, Felipe VI walked around the city center and visited the Basilica of Santissimo Salvatore, Boulogne, Quattro Canti, Pretoria and Piazza Bellini. Head to the churches of San Cataldo, Martorana, and Santa Caterina. Then the King and the Presidents of Italy and Portugal went to Piazza Marina, where they visited the Chiaramonte Stri Palace, the Church of Gancia and the Palazzo Abbatelle. Palazzo Chiaramonte Steri is the historic royal palace in Palermo.
Charles V, King of Spain from 1516, became King of the Kingdom of Sicily that same year, under the name Charles II. Since that date, the Kingdom of Sicily has been under the rule of the Spanish Crown of the Habsburg dynasty, succeeding the Trastamare family. The Habsburgs lost Sicily in 1734, and a new Spanish dynasty of Bourbons, descendants of the kings of France, took their place.
After visiting downtown Palermo, King Philip proceeded to Villa Bagno, where he gave a state dinner to welcome the chief representatives of the Cotec meeting. The Italian President and the Portuguese President attended. On the Spanish side, King Philip traveled with the Minister of Justice, Pilar Loeb. Before dinner, there was a detailed presentation of the delegations of the three countries and the official photo.
