Porta Felice
Porta Felice is a monumental city gate of Palermo. It represents the water-side entrance of the Cassaro and is located in the zone of the Foro Italico. The gate was built in Renaissance and Baroque styles between the 16th and 17th centuries.History
In 1581 the street of the Cassaro was extended in the vicinity of the sea. The Viceroy of Sicily Marcantonio Colonna decided to build a monumental gate in the new water-side entrance of the Cassaro. The gate was named after the wife of Colonna, Felice Orsini. On 6 July 1582 the groundbreaking ceremony took place.
In the following years the construction was cut off. In 1602 the new Viceroy Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba, Duke of Feria, decided to resume the work. The project was assigned to the senatorial architect Mariano Smiriglio. When he died, in 1636, the work was assigned to Pietro Novelli. In 1637 the gate was completed. In 1642 two fountains were added.
During the Second world war the right pillar was almost entirely destroyed because of the bombing. Later, a restoration has partially succeeded in restoring Porta Felice to its former glory.
