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The Porta Romana in Sarzana

Sarzana (La Spezia), Porta Romana
Sarzana (La Spezia), Porta Romana

In the 12th century, the city of Sarzana was equipped with a defence wall that included four access gates to the city. Only two of these – the Porta Parma and the Porta Romana (the latter also known as the Porta Nuova, Porta Pisana and Porta San Bartolomeo, this last taking the name of the nearby hospital) – remain as evidence of the imposing structure. The name Porta Nuova was given to the Porta Romana during the Napoleonic age in virtue of work done by the artist Pietro De Franchi to modernize the structure in 1783 and which gave the gate its present appearance.

A monumental gate with a single arch, completely faced in Carrara marble, it bears the coat of arms of Genoa and an inscription that informs us of the date of the work. Above the arch there is a small aedicule containing a statue of the Virgin Mary in prayer. Once through the gate, in the vault, one finds the city coat of arms, featuring a half–moon and an eight–point star. There is a communication trench above the monumental gate that serves to connect the two points of the fortified wall.

Porta Romana
Sarzana (La Spezia)

Open to public passage