The City Gate of Capua ( it, Porta di Capua or ''Porta delle due Torri'', 'Gate of the Two Towers') was a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

al fortified gate constructed between 1234 and 1239 at

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

on the orders of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. Medieval Capua was built on the site of ancient

Casilinum Casilinum was an ancient city of Campania, Italy, situated some 3 miles north-west of the ancient Capua. The position of Casilinum at the junction of the Via Appia and Via Latina, at their crossing of the river Volturnus by a still-existing three-ar ...

(while ancient Capua is today

Santa Maria Capua Vetere Santa Maria Capua Vetere ( nap, Santa Maria 'e Capua) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, part of the region of Campania (southern Italy). Though it is not connected with the ''Civitas Capuana'', the town is a medieval place and ...

). A

Roman bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ...

known as the Ponte Casilino crossed the

Volturno The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy. Geography It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southe ...

from the north. Frederick II had a new gate built on the north side of the Volturno before the bridge. The gate was built to greet travellers coming from the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. The gateway itself was a Romanesque arch in a façade between two large towers. The façade was programmatically decorated with sculptures to glorify the emperor, including one of Frederick himself. The gate was destroyed in 1557 on the orders of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, the

viceroy of Naples This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Naples. Following the conquest of Naples by Louis XII of France in 1501, Naples was subject to the rule of the foreign rulers, the Kings of France, Aragon and Spain and the Habsburg Archdukes of Austri ...

. Much of the sculpture is preserved today in the

Museo Campano The Museo Provinciale Campano di Capua (commonly referred to as Museo Campano) is a provincial museum located in Capua, southern Italy. Established in 1870 and inaugurated in 1874, it is housed in the historic Palazzo Antignano. The museum is dedi ...

, but the sculpture of Frederick was severely damaged when French troops marched south to support the

Parthenopean Republic The Parthenopean Republic ( it, Repubblica Partenopea, french: République Parthénopéenne) or Neapolitan Republic (''Repubblica Napoletana'') was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by the ...

in 1799.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{coord, 41.10988, 14.20852, format=dms, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Capua Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Gates in Italy City gates Former gates 1230s establishments in Europe 1557 disestablishments in Europe