Palermitans take great pride in it, and rightly so: Palermo Stadium is a piece of Italian and international football history.
Home ground of Palermo Calcio, the Stadio Renzo Barbera, still affectionately known today as La Favorita, has hosted legendary matches including some matches from the 1990 World Cup in Italy and the 1997 European Super Cup final Juventus-Paris SG, which ended in a 3-1 victory for the Bianconeri. In August 2025, the Barbera also hosted the Anglo-Palermitan Trophy, a friendly between Palermo and Manchester City organised to celebrate 125 years of the rosanero club’s history.
Thanks to its oval shape and the absence of an athletics track, Palermo Stadium ensures excellent visibility: whether you’re a football fanatic or simply curious, watching a Palermo home match will certainly be an exhilarating experience.
For practical information about the stadium, to plan a trip or purchase match tickets, visit the most comprehensive guide to Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo on the Stadi.online website.
It was the Fascist regime that wanted to build a new stadium in Palermo in record time, to replace the now ageing Ranchibile stadium where the city’s team had played its early matches.
The official inauguration date of Stadio Renzo Barbera is 24 January 1932: the first historic match was Palermo-Atalanta, which ended in a triumphant 5-1 victory for the rosanero.
The stadium underwent three major renovations: the first in 1948, the second in 1984 and the third on the eve of the World Cup held in Italy in 1990.
Since the 1980s, there has been talk of a new stadium to be built in Palermo, but in June 2025 the club and the Municipality signed a long-term concession agreement for the Renzo Barbera with Palermo Calcio, with the aim of carrying out a major renovation of the existing facility rather than building a new one. The renovation works will require an estimated investment of around 30 million euros.
Until 1936 the stadium was called the “Littorio“, a name later replaced with “Michele Marrone“, a tribute to a Fascist Italian footballer who died in battle during the Spanish Civil War.
Only after the end of the Second World War did the stadium take on the historic name “La Favorita“, by which it is still often referred to today: a reference to the nearby Parco della Favorita, once a hunting reserve of King Frederick II of Swabia.
In 2002 the stadium changes name once more: the current official name is “Stadio comunale Renzo Barbera“, a tribute to the beloved president of Palermo in the 1970-1980 decade.
If you’re not in the city for a match, you can still pop by the stadium: inside the facility you’ll find the SiamoAquile Bar, open every day even outside sporting events, where you can stop for a coffee or a snack while seated in the stands.
To watch a Palermo match, you don’t need an excuse: if you’re in the city on a match day, don’t miss the chance to experience the excitement of a game in one of Italy’s historic stadiums!
Palermo Stadium is divided into 14 sections:
There are 5 entrances: North Curve, South Curve, Away Supporters Sections, Montepellegrino Stand and Covered Stand.
Palermo Stadium currently has a capacity of 36,215 spectators, with 5,950 covered seats and the rest uncovered. In the past the capacity was higher, around 50,000 spectators, but it was reduced for safety and comfort reasons.
One of the most attended matches in the history of La Favorita was the Coppa Italia clash between Palermo and Juventus in the 1984/85 season, which generated a record figure for the time of over 800 million lire.
A plaque affixed to a wall inside the facility commemorates the five workers who died as a result of a collapse during the stadium’s renovation work for the 1990 World Cup.
From Palermo city centre, reaching the stadium by public transport is very easy – just take the B metro line and get off at “Stadio” stop; from the train station you can also take bus 101.
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