- Navy arches are among the Catania's most famous architectural symbols. The history of their construction is controversial and curious. It is a railway viaduct which connects Catania to SIRACUSA, formed by 56 archi made with the typical lava stone, like most of the buildings in Catania and province, placed next to the white limestone stoneThe colors and other features make them unique in the world. The sea also passed beneath them, dried up by the works that also transformed the port and village of Civita. They form the southern access to the city, welcoming tourists and citizens coming from that direction.
The Navy Arches: a work by the Frenchman Petit
Catania, before the mid-nineteenth century, had another seafront, located in the so-called “marina“, in that area which today corresponds to the Dusmet StreetThe Navy Arches therefore constitute a real testimony of the city in the nineteenth century. The French engineer designed and built them Enrico Petit, assisted by Lorenzo Maddem on behalf of Company of construction and operation of railway lines Vittorio EmanueleTo build this railway viaduct, the Church of Christ Found which stood beautifully on a lava spur more or less where it stands now Martyrs' Square.
A project opposed
The French engineer's project was slowed down by Petit's intention to build a railway crossing through the city, which would disrupt its urban layout. In March 1864, Petit presented a new, less invasive project that included the creation of a station built on the Armisi cliff, with the passage of the railway line from statue plan Address spaThe project was again contested and the mayor at the time appointed a commission to engineers from Catania to choose a more suitable site for the construction of the station, which had to be as close as possible to the port. The commission identified the site most suited to the city's needs near the Village and the junction for Syracuse and Palermo Food.
On June 12, 1864, the construction company presented Petit's project to the Ministry, which was definitively approved. Thus, the arches and the Acquicella station were born. On January 3, 1867 Central Station opens. The viaduct is open to traffic on July 1, 1869. Much of the money was spent not by the municipality of Catania but by the nations of France, Germany, and England, obviously for economic reasons. (Source: Brief history of Catania).
The construction of the Navy arches
The viaduct follows a path that starts from the port and ends at Porta Uzeda, near the Fish market (Seafood and raw fish)In the past, this area was lapped by the sea. Here there was a sidewalk bordered by a sturdy wall, some of which featured lava stone steps in direct contact with the water. This stretch of sea was known as the Saracen Porticello and played a crucial role in the city's commercial exchange. The sea beat against the wall of the Biscari Palace and he arrived where there is'little altar in Via PorticelloThe seawater reached places that would be impossible to imagine today... Part of the arches were immersed in the water; these were then buried during the expansion works, so much so that today the Navy Arches all rest on the ground.
In 1930 the Crispi Square and the sea gradually began to dry up; furthermore, with the arrival of modern means, the appearance of the Porticello began to change, becoming smaller and smaller until reaching its current appearance. Furthermore, at that time, the arches served as shelter for the fishing boats after nights spent fishing. In 1960, on the occasion of the doubling of the railway track, a second viaduct sea side similar to the one previously built and the arches gradually became a shelter for the homeless of the city. Look at the Video.
Structure
The arches are located beyond the Walls of Charles V, near the Porto and for a portion inside the Villa PaciniThe viaduct runs along the perimeter of the port area and ends near the Catania fish market. It continues with the Acquicella tunnel, approximately 1 km long, dug into the lava flow of 1669, the stretch of which near Castello Ursino It was built in the open air and then covered. Originally it was a single-track junction, with 56 archi resting on masonry piles; the path they take is similar to an inverted S.
Curiosities about the Navy's arches
The typical Catania expression “stay up there Marina" indicates a situation of economic and social hardship, linked to the fact that the structure often housed homeless people during the years of severe economic crisis. Many of the arches now house fishmongers. Among the 56 arches, there are also different sizes (some are wider). One of them is special because it is entirely closed by glass. In fact, a section of the Amenano River, which continues inside the Villa Pacini, starting from via Etnea and crossing Uzeda GateThe river flows into theclosed arch, then continues towards the villa and ends at the sea. The stretch of the river was visible under the arch through the glass windows. Today it is completely closed and abandoned.
The flea market
Furthermore, the bows and sailing ships that were stationed there made this a picturesque and one of the most evocative in the city Etna in the first decades of the last century. In 1930, a ferry which started from here and took the people of Catania to beach.
On Sunday the arches welcome the characteristic flea market. Below them the people of Catania gather inside the Villa Pacini usually for play cards. Here, just in the past few weeks, a craft market has been set up, bringing this important city space back to life.
Under one of these arches passes Saint Agatha in one of the most evocative moments of the festival. The fercolo passes through an arch in the so-called "dropped from the sea", during the "external tour" of the procession of the Patron Saint of Catania, which took place on the night between February 4th and 5th. We know how interconnected the healthy and the profane are in our city. In the same place, these two sides of the same coin coexist. Another curiosity related to the arches also concerns a very famous folk song that goes like this:
At the calata ra marina sciddricau nna' bedra signurina, scidricau with your hips open, and yes there vitti u thirty-seven; forward, forward, forward, some on the bedri, some on the bedri; furniture, furniture, furniture, the carabinieri are there.
“Navy Strings”: Who Loves Them and Who Hates Them
The people of Catania are endowed with great feelings: they love and hate strongly. Many despise bows because they have the original face of Catania has been disfigured and destroyed the seafront promenade of the people of Catania. They believe that Catania must have been a beautiful seaside city. The action is among one of the most serious damages to the urban space of Catania, second only to the gutting of the San Berillo and CivitaThe railway is still there. It's the sea that's gone. This is exactly the Catania our grandparents always told us about!
There are those who propose to demolish the arches to restore the relationship with the sea; finally, there are those who would like to keep them as they are because expression of the city's past and an integral part of its history, perhaps even creating it within cultural spaces. To date, despite their historical and above all anthropological role, they are not counted among the monuments from the Superintendency of Cultural Heritage.
New solutions
Even if it is a sort of "monument" among the most famous in Catania, among the arches today reign dirt, decay and abandonment. The proposals for making the best use of this urban space are linked to the creating welcoming and functional structures. There are those who have thought of creating under the arches of the shops, stores, bars and restaurants serving visitors and especially cruise passengers. The entire area should be redeveloped with adequate street furniture, more green above all well-groomed, lighting and adequate parking.
There are those who would like to transform the viaduct into a pedestrian path and those who propose to start the route from here. bicycle path which leads from the historic center to the Ognina seafront or who would like to place some information points since we are close to the crowded Borsellino Square, former Alcalà, a stop for those who use the bus services. We hope that this important place can truly be revived again!
Thanks to Pippo Costanzo and Angelo Conte.
Sources: A Brief History of Catania, notes on places and people from the 7th century to the Second World War by A. Conte; http://www.turismoct.myhostingweb.com/; https://www.citymapsicilia.it/; Catania Regional University Library.
