A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall . It is a type of fortified gateway .
6-650: Porta Portese is an ancient city gate , located at the end of Via Portuense , where it meets Via Porta Portese , about a block from the banks of the Tiber in the southern edge of the Rione Trastevere of Rome , Italy . The gate was built in 1644 as part of the Janiculum Walls which replaced the Porta Portuensis . The gate and walls were built by Vincenzo Maculani ; commissioned by Pope Urban VIII . Just outside
12-505: 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
18-596: A point of controlled access to and departure from 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
24-473: The gate, a large arsenal was erected by Clement XI starting from 1714. Until the late 19th century, the Ripa Grande port (then the main river port of the city) was located nearby. The Via Portuensis starts from it, which originally connected the city to Portus . A popular flea market is held every Sunday in the area of Porta Portese. City gate City gates were traditionally built to provide
30-566: 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
36-577: 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
#380619