City Stories Index · Italy · 2026 edition
Florence vs Palermo
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Florence leads 3–0. Character is a different question: Florence is the renaissance cradle; Palermo is the crossroads with a long memory.
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| What we measure | Florence | Palermo | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 71 | 27 | Florence |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 222 | 262 | Florence |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 9 | 4 | Florence |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 18 | — | Florence |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 17 | — | Florence |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 85 | — | Florence |
Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.
What their stories are about
How many places with a story each city has per theme: Florence in orange, Palermo in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
FlorencePalermo
24 places
faith & churches10 places
19 places
crime & dark history16 places
18 places
royalty & nobility3 places
16 places
arts & culture4 places
13 places
legends & myths8 places
9 places
guilds & trade2 places
Florence scorecard →
The Renaissance cradle
Palermo scorecard →
The crossroads with a long memory