The Porta Garibaldi, originally built as the Porta Ferdinandea or Porta Ferdinanda, is a

triumphal arch 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, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

, built in 1768, located at the end of Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, between the Piazza Palestro and Piazza Crocifisso in the quartiere Fortino of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, region of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Italy. It was built to celebrate the marriage of the Bourbon king

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...

to the Austrian princess Maria Carolina d'Asburgo-Lorena. The architects of the monument were Francesco Battaglia and

Stefano Ittar Stefano Ittar (March 15, 1724 – January 18, 1790) was a Polish-Italian architect. Biography Ittar was born in Owrucz (then in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, now in Ukraine), where his father, a member of one of Italy's aristocratic f ...

. The monument is made of alternating white stone from Siracusa and local dark lava blocks. At the top center of the arch is now a clock, surrounded by allegorical symbols, including an eagle and a statue recalling the black elephant ''u Liotru'', symbol of Catania. Originally, instead of a clock, was a marble bust of the Bourbon king. Flanking this tympanum, at the second level are two angels with trumpets. Flanking these are two sculptural depictions of

Trophy of arms A trophy or trophy of arms in art and architecture is a real or depicted artistically assembled display of weaponry and other militaria, often captured from a defeated enemy, as an Ornament (art), ornament designed for the purpose of triumphalis ...

.Descrizione di Catania e delle cose notevoli nei dintorni de essa
edited by Francesco Paternò Castello (1841), page 28-29. Underneath these dsplays of weapons and armor are written two phrases: one says ''Litteris armatur'' (armed with letters) and the other ''Armis decoratur'' (decorated with arms). On the east side the tympanum shield depicts a phoenix rising with a Latin cartouche stating ''Melior de cinere surgo'' (Better I arise from the ashes), which aptly applies to Catania, that has often required rebuilding due to volcanic activity and earthquakes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garibaldi Catania Buildings and structures in Catania