La Cala

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La Cala at night.

La Cala is the oldest part of the port of Palermo . It is connected to the newer part of the port by two opposing and overlapping jetties and is very well protected against swell. Today it serves exclusively as a marina , customs administration and harbor master .

history

Historical map of the harbor and castle from 1581.

The location of today's port of Palermo results from the natural conditions of the coastline that has formed this bay from time immemorial. Its use as a port by the Phoenicians has been documented as early as the 8th century BC . Until the second half of the 19th century and until the last expansion of Corso Vittorio Emanuele , the two brooks Kemonia and Papireto could still be seen above ground, which flowed into the Mediterranean here . Since the 16th century, cargo handling has shifted more and more to the New Harbor adjacent to the north.

The area was already notorious during the Renaissance. It was not for nothing that the surrounding palazzi with their balconies were directed in the opposite direction and not towards the sea. Increasing urbanization after it became insignificant as a trading center aroused desires over the course of history for the port, which was supposed to be closed with a pier or a bridge for seagoing ships, most recently in the 1930s. Just a few years ago, the port was notorious for the pollution it tolerated there. In addition, the port was repeatedly misused as a ship graveyard. In the years up to 2008, more than a dozen wrecks were removed from the harbor basin. The city administration is now working hard to improve the cleanliness and safety of the Cala. Also in 2008 the discharge of the old town's sewers into the harbor basin ended because a new sewage system could be put into operation. The hygienic conditions changed suddenly.

Until modern times , the port was secured by the castle Castello a Mare in the north . The facility was used by the military as barracks until 1922; the following year it was partially demolished to redesign the port facilities. Bomb hits in World War II further damaged the castle. After the war, there were bold plans for the redesign of the entire area north of the harbor basin, just as the Istituto Nautico on the southern side was rebuilt between the State Archives and Porta Felice at this time (1948–1960) . Instead, a hall for the fish market was built there.

Control

Relevant handbooks advise against staying in La Cala because this port is not safe, it is dirty and noisy and there are rats. The approach is unproblematic both during the day and at night because there are no shoals to consider. The driveway is also well lit several times. Ships up to 65 m long are permitted at a water depth of a maximum of six and a half meters. The maximum speed is 3 knots .

literature

  • Giuseppe Bellafiore: Palermo. Guida della città e dei dintorni . Palermo 1995, pp. 86-87.

Web links

Commons : La Cala  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roberto Alajmo: Palermo. Armchair Traveler . BoD 2017, ISBN 978-1909961500 , page 67
  2. ↑ Bellafiore p. 67.
  3. ↑ Aurora Argiroffi: Il moderno e la città antica. Il restauro dell'Istituto Nautico di Palermo , in: Il restauro del Moderno in Italia e in Europe. Nuova series di Architettura. FrancoAngeli 2011, ISBN 978-8856870978 , page 175-180
  4. ^ Claudio Mancuso: Palermo in camicia nera. Le trasformazioni dell'identità urbana (1922-1943). Mediterranea Ricerche storiche Anno V, December 2008, page 625
  5. ↑ Online port manual Italy: Marinas in Palermo / Sicily on European sailing information system

Coordinates: 38 ° 7 ′ 10.9 ″  N , 13 ° 22 ′ 4.1 ″  E