Mura delle Cattive - Palermo

Mura delle Cattive is a sea-view promenade located on the city walls near Porta Felice and close to the Foro Italico.

Etymologically, it is derived from the Latin captivae (captives) , a term used to describe widows, who were considered prisoners of the pain of mourning. In fact, this terrace was used for walks by the widows themselves, which were held at a certain distance from the classic promenade that joins the Foro Italico
The promenade, which had existed since the end of the 17th century, was perfected in its current form by Marquis Lucchesi Palli in 1813, damaged by heavy aerial bombardment during World War II (May 1943), forgotten and unused until 1997, when the municipal council started the restoration on a project basis and under the leadership of architect Mario Li Castri. In 1998 it was reopened for public use.

You get there via a staircase on the Piazza Santo Spirito , next to the Palazzo Benso . The promenade is successively overlooked by the private terraces of the Benso Palace and those of the Butera, Piraino and Lampedusa palaces and the former Trinacria hotel.

Willem Vandenameele