Medieval Tower of St. Nicholas Gate in Florence, Italy
Posted by: 
marcius
N 43° 45.870 E 011° 15.895
32T E 682306 N 4848209
A preserved tower is all that remains of the medieval five mile circuit of city walls of which it was an integral part were mostly demolished in the second half of the 19th century.
Waymark Code: WMEAN3
Location: Toscana, Italy
Date Posted: 04/28/2012
Views: 10
The Torre provides a distant view of the Duomo One of Florence's most majestic but lesser-known monuments is the Porta San Niccolo, the medieval gate of St. Nicholas also referred to as the Torre San Niccolo'. Rising 115 feet tall, it is the only city gate to retain
its original height and form. Even though its great wooden doors are no longer in place, this massive gate still stands sentinel on the south bank of the Arno River as a testament to the strength and power of the Florentine Republic in the Middle Ages.
Constructed in 1324, the gate's original purpose was to control access in and out of Florence but since the five-mile circuit of city walls of which it was an integral part were mostly demolished in the second half of the 19th century, it stands today in splendid solation as a freestanding tower built from the hard, brown, local sandstone known as pietra dura. And if stones could talk, the Torre San Niccolo' would have quite a tale to tell over 500 years of history comprising sieges and trade, soldiers and artisans, Florentine merchants and weary travelers who passed through this portal on a daily basis.