Cassaro, Palermo

The Cassaro (Sicilian: u Càssaru) is the most ancient street of Palermo.[1] From the late 16th century the street also had the name Via Toledo. Following the unification of Italy, it was officially renamed Via Vittorio Emanuele II, but the old and distinctive name is still in use. The street is rooted in the age of the foundation of Palermo by the Phoenicians. It provides access to a number of important sights, including the Royal Palace (also known as Palazzo dei Normanni) and the Cathedral, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Underwood & Underwood, "Winter noonday on Victor Emmanuel st. - W. through the New Gate, Palermo, Sicily, Italy". 1906
Cassaro
Via Vittorio Emanuele II
View of Palermo (plate n. 56) from Volume 4 of Civitates Orbis Terrarum. Cassaro appears as the long road in the middle of the city.
Native nameSicilian: u Càssaru
Former name(s)As-Simat Al-Balat, Platea Marmorea, Via Toledo
Length1.8 km (1.1 mi)
LocationPalermo, Sicily, Italy
CoordinatesQuattro Canti: 38°06′57″N 13°21′41″E

Toponymy

The name "Cassaro" comes from the Arabic word "Qasr" (fortress, castle).[2] In fact, during the era of the Islamic Sicily, Panormus, called Balarm by the Saracens, became the island's capital and a large portion of the ancient city was widely fortified. In the Middle Ages, especially during the Islamic and Norman periods, the street was also called "As-Simat Al-Balat" (Arabic)[3] and "Via (Platea) Marmorea" (Latin) because it was paved with slabs of marble.[4] Even now, the Arabic word "balat(a)" is used in Sicily to indicate the marble.

In the late sixteenth century, during the age of the personal union between the crowns of Spain and Sicily, the street assumed the name of "Via Toledo" in honor of the Viceroy García de Toledo Osorio, the main architect of its rectification.[5] This denomination lasted until the unification of Italy, when the street was officially dedicated to the King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. However, the ancient name "Cassaro" never was abandoned by the people.

History
View of Palermo Cathedral from the Cassaro

The road was created at the time of the foundation of Palermo by the Phoenicians, cutting into two parts the city and connecting the ancient port to the Punic necropolis located in the area of the current Piazza Indipendenza and Corso Calatafimi.

During the Islamic era the street confirmed its role of main axis of the city, from which various branch detached as secondary roads called "Darbi", perpendicular to the main branch, inserting in the territory and ending in "Aziqqa", blind alleys distinctive of Palermo.[6] During the Siculo-Norman age the Cassaro was richly described by the Muslim geographer Al-Idrisi in his famous "Book of Roger".[7]

Porta Felice, entrance of the Cassaro from the sea

The most important innovation to the layout of the Cassaro occurred in the second half of the sixteenth century, during the Spaniard age. The project, maybe defined from the outset but accomplished in various stages, provided for the rectification and enlargement of the street up to the Church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo,[8] near Palazzo Chiaramonte (at that time headquarters of the Viceroy).

The works, with the permission of the Viceroy Garcia de Toledo, began in 1567. It started with the adjustment of the southern area till "Porta dei Patitelli" (current Via Roma), then with massive demolitions to reach Piazza Marina. The development of this work was actively supported by the city nobility, that contributed to the opening of Piazza Bologni and Piazza Pretoria. In 1581 The Viceroy Marcantonio Colonna prolonged the street up to the city walls by opening the sea with the monumental Porta Felice.[8]

Quattro Canti, direction south, and Church of San Giuseppe dei Teatini

Structure

The street is perfectly straight from Porta Nuova, near Piazza Indipendenza, to Porta Felice, near the Foro Italico. It has a slight downhill sloping towards the sea. Throughout its path there are many streets leading into it but only two crossing: Via Maqueda (also known as "Strada Nuova"), with which it forms the famous Baroque intersection known as Quattro Canti (Piazza Villena), and Via Roma, created in the late nineteenth century.

Transport

Since 2015 the street is pedestrian in the stretch from the Cathedral to Quattro Canti. A free shuttle bus, called "Free Centro Storico" or "Arancione" (Orange), crosses the historic centre from Piazza Indipendenza to Porta Felice.[9]

Places of interest
Royal Palace
Contemporary Art Museum of Sicily, Palazzo Riso
Fontana del Garraffo
Santa Maria della Catena
Right sideNumberNumberLeft side
Piazza Indipendenza
Royal Palace of Palermo
(also known as "Palazzo dei Normanni")		Porta NuovaMilitary Quarter of San Giacomo
Piazza del Parlamento475
Piazza della Vittoria
(Villa Bonanno)		467Theological Faculty of Sicily
463Seminary of Palermo
Palazzo del Castillo[10][11]Archbishop's Palace
Palazzo Asmundo492Palermo Cathedral
Palazzo Imperatore484
Palazzo Filangieri di Cutò474
Palazzo La Grua di Carini462
Palazzo Castrone-Santa Ninfa452
[12]Palazzo Mango di Casalgerardo
429Central Library of Sicily
Church of Santissimo Salvatore417Palazzo Colonna di Cesarò
Palazzo Natoli[13]
Palazzo Airoldi382
Palazzo Algaria[14]
Piazza Bologni
(Monument to Charles V)		365Palazzo Riso
(Contemporary Art Museum of Sicily)
Palazzo Pilo di Marineo316327Palazzo Tarallo della Miraglia
Church of San Giuseppe dei Teatini
Via MaquedaQuattro CantiVia Maqueda
Palazzo Bordonaro[15]
Palazzo Bonocore[15]
Church of San Matteo al Cassaro
Via Roma
225Palazzo Tramontana Roccaforte
Palazzo Termine d'Isnello204
187Palazzo Vannucci di Balchino
Palazzo Ventimiglia di Prades188
157Palazzo Santa Margherita
137Palazzo Roccella
111Palazzo Amari di Sant'Adriano
Palazzo Sitano114
93Palazzo Cammarata Testa
Piazza Marina
(Fontana del Garraffo)		Palazzo delle Finanze
Palazzo della Gran Guardia[16]Church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo
Church of San Giovanni dei Napoletani39Palazzo Vassallo
Piazza MarinaChurch of Santa Maria della Catena
Palazzo della Zecca31State Archives of Palermo
Piazza Santo Spirito
(Fontana del Cavallo Marino)
Passeggiata delle CattiveLoggiato San Bartolomeo
Porta Felice
Foro Italico

Feast of Saint Rosalia
An image from the Festino 2009

The Cassaro is the scenery of the long procession of the Chariot of Saint Rosalia during the "Festino", the night between the 14th and 15th of July of each year. The feast dedicated to the patron saint of Palermo involves every year tens of thousands of people.

See also

References
  1. https://www.palermoviva.it/via-vittorio-emanuele-palermo/
  2. Di Giovanni, Vincenzo (1890), La topografia antica di Palermo dal secolo X al XV. p. 83, 127.
  3. Di Giovanni, Vincenzo (1890), La topografia antica di Palermo dal secolo X al XV. p. 294.
  4. Morso, Salvatore (1827), Descrizione di Palermo antico. p. 219.
  5. Palermo, Gaspare (1816), Guida istruttiva per potersi conoscere con facilità tanto dal Siciliano che dal forestiere tutte le magnificenze, e gli oggetti degni di osservazione della città di Palermo. Giornate I e II. p. 93.
  6. Gabrieli F., Scerrato U., Balog P. (1979), Gli Arabi in Italia: cultura, contatti e tradizioni. Scheiwiller Editori. p. 579.
  7. Dummett, Jeremy (2015), Palermo, City of Kings: The Heart of Sicily. I.B.Tauris. p. 42.
  8. "Palermo: il suo passato, il suo presente, i suoi monumenti: in occasione del XII Congresso degli scienziati italiani (1875). L. Pedone Lauriel Editore. p. 46". 1875.
  9. (in Italian) News about the service - Official site of AMAT
  10. Entrance from Piazza della Vittoria.
  11. Entrance from Via Matteo Bonello.
  12. Entrance from Via delle Scuole.
  13. Entrance from Via SS. Salvatore.
  14. Entrance from Piazza Bologni.
  15. Entrance from piazza Pretoria.
  16. Entrance from Piazza Marina.
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