Gate sights in Italy
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Porta Romana
Pilgrims to Rome headed down Via Romana leaving Florence behind them. The end of the road is marked by the Porta Romana, an imposing gate that was part of the outer circle of city walls knocked down in the 19th century. A strip of this wall still stretches to the north from the gate.
If you head along the inside of this wall (the area is now a car park), you will find an entrance that allows you to get to the top of the Porta Romana. The square below was traditionally a fairground for peasants in the surrounding county (contado). By far the most curious of these fairs was the Fiera dei Contratti (Contracts Fair), when country folk from near and far dragged sons and daugh…
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Porta Settimiana
Resembling a crenellated keep, Porta Settimiana marks the start of Via della Lungara, the 16th-century road that connects Trastevere with the Borgo. It was built in 1498 by Pope Alexander VI over a small passageway in the Aurelian Wall and later altered by Pope Pius VI in 1798. From Porta Settimiana, Via Santa Dorotea leads to Piazza Trilussa, a popular evening hang-out, and Ponte Sisto, which connects with the centro storico.
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Porta Nuova
Next to the palace is the Porta Nuova, built to celebrate the arrival of Carlos V in Palermo in 1535 after a victory over the Tunisians. Designed in the mannerist style, the gate was partially destroyed by lightning in 1667 and rebuilt with the addition of the conical top. More than 400 years later, it still serves as a demarcation line between the old and new city.
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Porta Napoli
The main city gate, Porta Napoli, was erected in 1548 in anticipation of a state visit from Charles V. It's a typically militaristic effort by General Acaja (builder of the castle), who modelled it on a Roman triumphal arch and gave it a pointy pediment carved with toy weapons and an enormous Spanish coat of arms. Subtle it is not.
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Arco Bollani
The Arco Bollani, next to the Loggia di San Giovanni, was designed by Andrea Palladio in 1556 and leads up to the castle used by the Venetian governors. The way is lined by the Porticato del Lippomano, a late-15th century portico raised along the length of one of the city's former defensive walls.
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Arco Etrusco
At the end of Via Ulisse Rocchi facing Piazza Fortebraccio and the Università per Stranieri are the ancient city gates, the Arco Etrusco dating from the 3rd century BC. The upper part is Roman and bears the inscription 'Augusta Perusia'. The loggia on top dates from the Renaissance.
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Porta Rudiae
Via Libertini exits the historic centre through one of the city's three monumental gates, Porta Rudiae. It takes its name from the original Roman settlement of Rudiae (or Lupiae), which was located 3km southwest of Lecce.
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Torre di Properzio
The Torre di Properzio stands guard over the western Roman walls of town. Named after the Roman poet Propertius, the gate and its towers are a hodgepodge of Roman, medieval and 20th-century reconstructionist architecture.
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Porta Marina
The ruin site's main entrance is at Porta Marina, the most impressive of the seven gates that punctuated the ancient town walls. A busy passageway, now as then, it originally connected the town with the nearby harbour.
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Porta Consolare
As you enter Spello, you'll come across Piazza Kennedy, the main entrance to the town, with a partially Roman gate, Porta Consolare.
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Porta al Prato
Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio (may have) restructured the medieval gate leading into the city proper, the Porta al Prato.
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Arco di Riccardo
The Arco di Riccardo is an earlier Roman remnant, one of the old town gateways, dating from 33 BC.
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Porta San Biagio
Porta San Biagio is Lecce's third city gate, which opens out onto a park on the other side of Piazza Italia.
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