Built in 1891 to house the National Exhibition of Palermo the recently refurbished Excelsior Hilton Palermo hotel is considered to be one of the most prestigious of all the historic hotels in Sicily. Initially intended to be dismantled at the end of the prestigious art show its success and the idea of transforming it for use as a hotel led to the building that we see today following careful restoration by the architect Basile to whom the project was entrusted in 1925.