The Palazzo dei Normanni is also called Royal Palace of Palermo. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily with the Hauteville dynasty and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily. Since 1946 it has been the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The building is the oldest royal residence in Europe; and was the private residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Sicily and the imperial seat of Frederick II and Conrad IV.
The palace stands in the highest point of the ancient centre of the city, just above the first Punic settlements, whose remains can still be found in the basement.
The Aula Magna of the Engineering Department is named after Giovan Battista Filippo Basile - the first director of the Royal School of Application for Engineers and Architects (1889-1892).
It has a seating capacity of 300.
It is equipped with air conditioning system as well as audio-visual equipment such as: Projector, Projection screen, 6 table microphones, 1 radio microphone, Internet connection, Laptop PC. Camera