Porta Cerere

Porta Cerere marks the lower end of Anagni's Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Its nineteenth-century travertine architecture preserves the memory of a much older entrance damaged and relocated during changes to the town's defences.

Why it matters

The gate connects Anagni's medieval fortifications with the Spanish siege of 1556 and the later civic rebuilding of its approaches. Its present monumental form belongs to a different phase from the destroyed medieval tower.

What to notice

Rusticated travertine dresses both faces of the arch. Pilasters and an architrave with triglyphs frame the outer composition, above which appears the civic emblem of an eagle with a lion. An inscription on the inner face records nineteenth-century work on the gate, walls and road towards the Casilina plain.

Context and history

The earlier entrance was associated with a tower destroyed during the Duke of Alba's siege. A new bastion subsequently required the gate to move outward. Restoration was considered in 1812, and Antonio Martinelli received the rebuilding commission in 1831; the works were complete by 1841. Removal of adjoining crenellated wall stretches in the 1930s further changed its setting.