La Cala — porticciolo

The story

La Cala is the natural harbour around which Palermo grew. In Phoenician and Roman times the inlet reached much further inland: the two watercourses that fed it were later buried and are streets today.

For centuries it was the city’s commercial port, ringed by the warehouses and churches of the merchant nations. Silting and the building of the modern port to the north reduced it to a secondary anchorage.

After decades of neglect, it was recovered in the 2000s as a marina and public walk.

Why it is worth it

This is where the city admits it was born from the sea. Sailing boats at their moorings, the outline of Santa Maria della Catena on one side, Monte Pellegrino at the end. In the evening people walk here and sit on the edge, and the sunset comes from behind the buildings with the harbour in front. It costs nothing and it is the best walk in the centre.