In the 1950s it was partly demolished to improve traffic. Now, thanks to the “Urban Regeneration” project, the ancient gate returns to its former glory
Located in the western section of the seventeenth-century city walls, it was the gateway for those coming and going to Palermo (and it owes its name to this gate function).
The ancient one Porta Palermo of Termini Imerese, gets a new look thanks to co-financing from the European Union to the Municipality as part of the community axis called “Urban Regeneration”.
The restoration and recovery works, which started in December, include the lighting of the jambs as well as the commissioning of the basin adjacent to the walls.
This is the restoration and recovery of one of the most important and monumental gates of the city, a piece of history that will return to its original beauty by summer 2024.
The intervention is part of the redevelopment of other important places in the city such as: the “Nuovo Belvedere”, the “Rocca del Castello” and the “Open-air Theatre”.
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History
The city of Termini Imerese was equipped with one walls already during the Roman period and certainly also in the Middle Ages.
The first news on the expansion of the urban perimeter due to the expansion of the city in the 16th century comes with the assignment given by the City Jurors to the engineer Antonino Salamone who designed it and began construction in 1571.
The construction of the new city wall was encouraged Charles V in 1535 when, during a visit to the city, he highlighted that the defensive walls were small in size and not adequate for defense against possible enemy attacks.
In the 16th century, the Termita walls, in addition to the aforementioned Porta Palermo, were eleven.
Each gate also had multiple names based on its functions and characteristics: Porta Girgenti was also called Porta Caccamo; Porta Euracea or Porta “Bellomo” was Porta Baddoma; Porta Messina or Pescara, named after the Vice King; Door Loaded; Porta Lignami or Porta Artese; Porta Marina or Porta della Dognana; Porta Pescaria; Porta Euracea, last in chronological order; Porta Falsa or Porta del Soccorso; Porta Torre Vecchia was also the entrance to the castle and finally Porta Santa Caterina.
In the wall structure between Porta Pescheria and Porta Euracea there was a circular “Torrione Nuovo” used to monitor those coming from the sea.
Near the Porta del Caricatore, which opens onto an area of the city called precisely Chargeruntil the end of the 18th century, there were a large number of warehouses of grain and cereals, products that flowed from the hinterland to be then loaded onto ships for trade or as tributes from the lands of Sicily to the various rulers.
The main axis of this new urban configuration of the city was to be the long street that connected Porta Felice with Porta Girgenti. This axis took on the role of a major commercial street, becoming the backbone of the city’s economic activities.
Another decisive axis was the one that connected Porta Messina with Porta Palermo: a road axis of a territorial nature that connected the coastal road that leads from Messina to Palermo.
L’urban expansion of the city outside the walls dates back to the early 1900s. The neighborhoods from this period are: Barratina, near Porta Balloma, S. Antonio, outside Porta Girgenti and the Porta Palermo neighborhood near the Porta Palermo of the same name.
Near this entrance, in the 17th century, the barracks of the Spanish garrison were established, then used as such until the end of the 2nd World War, called “La Masa” Barracks, now home to the municipal offices.
Of particular interest were the perfectly identical jambs of Porta Palermo and Porta Messina, which is why it is believed there was a unitary urban planning project of decoration of the most important accesses of the city.
In fact, at the “Liciniana” municipal library, it is possible to consult municipal resolution n°11 of 1873 which authorized the construction works of the door jambs of Porta Messina by the municipal architect Antonino Ciresi.
The document reads: «having seen the art. 105 of the budget (…) where it provides for the execution of new public works, with which the fund has been expanded and considering that the work is to be understood as an urgent sum; considering that the construction of the jambs of Porta Messina, after the completion of the railway, appears to be the main entrance to the city (…) to approve the construction of the said jambs (…) with which the expenditure of Lire 3,705.78 is foreseen”.
With the birth of the Mazziere district located downstream of the walls, shortly after Porta Palermo, around the 1950s, it became necessary to respond to the needs of the new expansion, strengthening the road network towards the new district: the most immediate and simple way was Of demolish a section of walls next to the pylon and create a driveway.
This “gash” as created, is still visible today.
