If you find yourself taking a tour in the lower area of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, near the sea, I recommend that you extend your walk on the Bad Walls.
Don’t worry, unusual encounters with evil women will not wait for you…
The evocative and curious name of this famous place in Palermo, in fact, has nothing to do with the malice of the Palermo women; the term Cattive comes from “captivae”, that is the “prisoners of mourning”, the widows of the Palermo nobility who were not allowed to walk at the Foro Italico, the ancient promenade on the sea where Palermitans used to spend their free time walking on foot or in carriage.
The walls represented a more secluded place where widows could have their leisure time, away from prying eyes and enjoying a splendid view of the sea of Palermo.
The walk, raised above the street level and flanked by splendid nineteenth-century noble palaces, was built in 1823 over the ancient Spanish walls of the sixteenth century; it is accessed by two elegant stairways (one you will find right on Porta Felice’s right) and still allow us to enjoy the enchanting panorama of the coast.
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