The Harbour Genius is the most ancient of the eight exemplars of the Genius of Palermo, called simply Palermo.
The Genius is a supernatural entity, not attributable to any specific divinity, and protecting the city. Palermo's emblem is therefore not a highly intelligent being, but a crowned, bearded man holding a snake that feeds off his bosom.
This version of the city's symbol has in all likeliness been created prior to the XVI’s century and put on a boundary stone at the harbour's tourist entrance. The bas relief faces mount Pilgrim and is under a statue of another of Palermo’s emblems, the royal eagle.
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