Porta Nova

Porta Nova is the youngest of Corinaldo's historic gates, opened during the Renaissance expansion of the town's defences between 1484 and 1490.

Why it matters

The gate records the transition from medieval walls to fortifications adapted for gunpowder warfare. Its later burial and alteration preserve further changes in how Corinaldo's defences were used and incorporated into the town.

What to notice

The round tower flanks a lower arched opening. A domed chamber within the tower is a defensive gun-room. The gate was partly buried when the nineteenth-century ring road and low wall were built, and its arch was later enlarged, leaving visible alterations to the original profile.

Context and history

Corinaldo's first wall circuit followed the refoundation of the town in 1367 and survived sieges in 1416 and 1432. The Renaissance addition of 1484–1490 extended the defences and included Porta Nova. In 1850, construction of the ring road and murello buried about half the gate and tower. The opening was enlarged in the early twentieth century to accommodate public transport vehicles.