Porta Felice

The story

Porta Felice closes the seaward end of the Cassaro, the street that crosses the old city, today corso Vittorio Emanuele. Work began in the late 16th century at the wish of the viceroy Marcantonio Colonna, who dedicated it to his wife Felice Orsini, and was finished in the 17th century.

It has no arch: two twin stone piers leave the passage, and the view, wide open. The reason usually given is practical rather than symbolic — the floats of the Festino di Santa Rosalia had to pass through, and they still come down this way towards the sea.

Bombed in the Second World War, it was rebuilt afterwards.

Why it is worth it

This is the gate between the city and the water: on one side the Cassaro with its palaces and churches, on the other the Foro Italico, the lawn and the open sea. Walk under it at sunset and you understand why the city grew here. Look at the piers from the seaward side: the stone is eaten by salt and the carving is still legible.