A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall . It is a type of fortified gateway .
7-575: The Porta Capuana is a Renaissance city gate in Naples , Italy, originally passing through the medieval city walls, of which two bastions remain to the sides. The gate also gives its name to the zone, which is one of the ten boroughs of Naples. This zone being part of the Fourth Municipality . In spite of the name, the portal is not the ancient gateway to the decumanus maximus , the main east-west road that once led out of Roman Naples to Capua. When
14-505: A location for warning or intimidation, for example by displaying the heads of beheaded criminals or public enemies. Notably in Denmark, many market towns used to have at least one city gate mostly as part of the city's fortifications, but during the Age of Absolutism their functions become closely linked to the collection of customs , the so-called octroi , which from 1660 onwards was charged to
21-545: A walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals. Depending on their historical context they filled functions relating to defense, security, health, trade, taxation, and representation, and were correspondingly staffed by military or municipal authorities. The city gate was also commonly used to display diverse kinds of public information such as announcements, tax and toll schedules, standards of local measures, and legal texts. It could be heavily fortified, ornamented with heraldic shields , sculpture or inscriptions, or used as
28-489: The city was extended eastwards in the 15th century as part of the construction of the new Aragonese city walls, the original gate, which had been closer to the castle of the same name, Castel Capuano , was rebuilt and relocated in 1484. Then when the walls were razed, the gate remained free-standing, giving it somewhat the air of a triumphal arch . The carving on the 1484 facings consists of classically inspired trophies, flying Victories and other triumphal imagery. Just inside
35-409: The gate, is the domed church of Santa Caterina a Formiello . 40°51′16″N 14°15′56″E / 40.854330°N 14.265440°E / 40.854330; 14.265440 This article about an Italian building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . City gate City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from
42-566: The market town's coffers. When absolutism in Denmark came to an end after the revolutions of 1848 , gate consumption was abolished in 1852, and since then the city gates also began to disappear. Medieval Danish city gates are found today only in Vesterport , Faaborg , and Mølleporten , Stege , as well as in Flensburg , today in Germany . Further city gates, in one form or another, can be found across
49-577: The world in cities dating back to ancient times to around the 19th century. Many cities would close their gates after a certain curfew each night, for example, a bigger one like Prague or a smaller one like the one in Flensburg, in the north of Germany. With increased stability and freedom, many walled cities removed such fortifications as city gates, although many still survive; albeit for historic interest rather than security. Many surviving gates have been heavily restored, rebuilt or new ones created to add to
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