Feel like a royal when you walk through the Porta Reale or Ferdinandea of Noto.
Constructed as a triumphal arch for the king’s entry into the baroque city, the Porta Reale or Ferdinandea was commissioned and financed in 1838 by the Marquis of Cannicarao in anticipation of a visit to Noto by King Ferdinand II of Bourbon. This neoclassical gate made of the golden limestone employed for many of the UNESCO recognized churches, palaces, and roadways of the Val di Noto was designed by architect Orazio Angelici.
Of interest are the symbols decorating the arch: a stork that represents peace, happiness, and fertility; a tower that illustrates the strength and power of the city; a Sicilian greyhound dog communicating loyalty and fidelity. The wreath on the left displays wheat, representing abundance and fertility. The wreath on the right possesses a caduceus, the staff carried by the Hermes, the messenger of the ancient Greek gods, as a symbol of peace. Inside the archways are the coat of arms of the Cannicarao family and the city of Noto.
