Porta Filia and city walls

Porta Filia and the part of the adjacent wall are what is left of the ancient city walls in Sternatia, rebuilt in the 16th century on a strong byzantine structure.

The word “filìa” means “love”, “peace”, “friendship” in the Greek language, and the gate has always had a great importance for the inhabitants of the area: there is indeed still the tradition of the brides passing under it with the wedding procession, to represent that the citizens are welcoming the new family. The same ritual is also held for funerals, meaning the end of life.

In the past, there used to be four more entrance gates. On the opposite part of via Platea there used to be Porta Lecce, another gate was on the west side of the town, while the fourth gate was nearby the nowadays Palazzo Granafei.