Porta Ligny or Porta Ligne was the main

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

of the island of

Ortygia Ortygia (; it, Ortigia; grc-gre, Ὀρτυγία) is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as the ''Città Vecchia'' (Old City), contains many historical landmark ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. It was constructed in 1673 and demolished in 1893.

History

Porta Ligny was constructed in 1673 and it was named after

Claude Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne Claude Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne, Prince of Epinoy, Marquis of Roubaix and Count of Fauquemberg (8 October 1618 – 21 December 1679), was a nobleman from the Spanish Netherlands, a soldier and diplomat in the service of Philip IV of S ...

and Viceroy of Sicily. It formed part of the fortifications of Syracuse, which at the time were being upgraded by the Flemish military engineer

Carlos de Grunenbergh Carlos de Grunenbergh, also known as Carlo Grunenberg (died 1696), was a Flemish architect and military engineer active in the late 17th century. He mainly designed fortifications in Sicily and Malta. He was also a member of the Order of Saint Joh ...

, and it led towards an inner gate known as the Porta Reale or Porta Carlo V (also demolished). The fortifications were damaged during the

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7. ...

, and some alterations were made to the gate during the subsequent repair work, which was also directed by Grunenbergh.

The gate and its surrounding fortifications were demolished in 1893, in accordance with an 1890 master plan drawn up by the engineer Pandolfo.

Architecture

The gate consisted of a portal flanked by

Solomonic column The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian or Composite cap ...

s, and it was topped by two marble coats of arms; the one of Claude Lamoral is now preserved at the

Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery ( it, Museo di palazzo Bellomo) is an art museum in Syracuse, Sicily. Bellomo Palace The museum is situated in the premises of Bellomo Palace. The origins of the palace have been traced to the 12th century, the tim ...

References

External links

{{commons category inline, Porta Ligny (Syracuse) 1673 establishments in the Kingdom of Sicily 1893 disestablishments in Italy Baroque architecture in Sicily Buildings and structures completed in 1673 Buildings and structures demolished in 1893 Buildings and structures in Syracuse, Sicily City gates Gates in Italy

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links