Porta Nuova is a monumental city gate of Palermo. It represents the entrance of the

Cassaro Cassaro ( Sicilian: ''Càssaru'', in the local dialect: ''Càssuru'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (Italy). The name is originally from the Arabic word القصر (''al-Qasru'') meaning "the castle." ...

(the main and most ancient street of the city) from Corso Calatafimi (the way to Monreale) and is located beside

Palazzo dei Normanni The Palazzo dei Normanni (Norman Palace) is also called Royal Palace of Palermo. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily with the Hauteville dynasty and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily. Since 1946 ...

, royal palace of Palermo. The gate was built to celebrate

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

conquest of Tunis (1535) The Habsburg Empire of Charles V and its allies conquered Tunis in 1535, wresting the city away from the control of the Ottoman Empire. Background In 1533, Suleiman the Magnificent ordered Hayreddin Barbarossa, whom he had summoned from Alg ...

and his visit to the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily.

History

According to the historian

Tommaso Fazello Tommaso Fazello (New Latin ''Fazellus'', 1498 – 8 April 1570) was an Italian Dominican friar, historian and antiquarian. He is known as the father of Sicilian history. He is the author of the first printed history of Sicily: ''De Rebus Sicu ...

the original gate was built in the 15th century. The building was initially called "Porta dell'Aquila" (Gate of the Eagle), but the people of Palermo got used to call it "''Porta Nuova''" ("''New Gate''"). After Charles V's conquest of Tunis, the Emperor came to Sicily. He entered in Palermo through this gate on 13 September 1535. In order to commemorate this event, the Senate of Palermo decreed to rebuild the gate in a more sumptuous style. The

Viceroy of Sicily This is a list of viceroys of Sicily: Aragonese direct rule 1409–1516 * John of Aragon, Duke of Peñafiel, later king John II of Aragon, 1458–1479, acted 1409–1416. * Domingo Ram y Lanaja, Bishop of Lleida 1416–1419 * Antonio de Cardona ...

Marcantonio Colonna Marcantonio II Colonna (sometimes spelled Marc'Antonio; 1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was a Roman aristocrat who served as a Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, Spanish gener ...

set off the construction in 1583. The gate was completed in 1584. The Viceroy renamed it "Porta Austriaca" (Austrian Gate). For this reason the building was also called "Porta Imperiale" (Imperial Gate). But nevertheless, the name "''Porta Nuova''" continues to be used. The gate was destroyed in 1667 when a fire erupted inside the warehouse of the building. The Senate of Palermo commissioned the architect Gaspare Guercio to rebuild the gate. The work was completed in 1669.

Description

The facade leading to the Cassaro has the typical style of the

triumphal arches A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

. The facade leading to the Corso Calatifimi and Piazza Indipendenza presents four big

telamones In European architectural sculpture, an atlas (also known as an atlant, or atlante or atlantid; plural atlantes)''Aru-Az

depicting the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

defeated by Charles V.

References

External links

* {{in lang, it}
History of the gate - Provincia Regionale di Palermo
Nuova Baroque architecture in Palermo Triumphal arches in Italy

History

Description

See also

References

External links