The Porta alla Croce is a former gate of the
Walls of Florence, locate east of the neighborhood of
Santa Croce, in the
Piazza Beccaria
Piazza Cesare Beccaria is a square of Florence located on the viali di Circonvallazione, the boulevard along the route of the former walls of Florence.
History
The piazza was designed by the architect Giuseppe Poggi when Florence became briefly ...
of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, region of
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, Italy. The gate was part of the fourth set of walls around Florence built in the late 13th century.
The Gate was once called ''Porta alla Croce al gorgo'' and also ''Porta Sant'Ambrogio''. It is said that the name may derive from the legend that at this location
San Miniato
San Miniato is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy.
San Miniato sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of Ego ...
was made a martyr.
The Gate was refurbished in 1817-1818 under the reign of Grand Duke
Ferdinando III of Lorraine, and in the outer lunette has a much degraded fresco depicting the Virgin and Saints by
Michele Tosini
Michele Tosini, also called ''Michele di Ridolfo'', (1503–1577) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance and Mannerist period, who worked in Florence.
Biography
He apprenticed initially with Lorenzo di Credi and Antonio del Ceraiolo, but then ...
. In the past, just outside this gate, was the site where official executions were performed.
Guida della città di Firenze ornata di pinata e vedute
page 150.
The urban renewal of Florence (1865-1871) directed by Giuseppe Poggi
Giuseppe Poggi (3 April 1811 – 19 March 1901) was an Italian architect, mainly active in Tuscany.
Biography
A native of Florence, he received numerous commissions from the city's upper bourgeoisie for renovations of palaces and gardens.
F ...
demolished the walls and left this and other gates isolated in a traffic circles.
To the south of the gate is a plaque commemorating those fallen in World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Below is a fountain in poor state of conservation. The memorial was dedicated in 1925, completed in 1928, and two Fascist emblems were once present. The plaque reads ''Fallen in the War of Vindication and for the Grandeur of Italy''. A plaque from 1310 describes the size of the walls and gate in ''Braccia Florentina''. Finally a third plaque states that in 1817, "Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
, father of the citizens... to ensure a gain of wealthy classes in periods of poor harvests and boost trade, he opened with great commitment of spending, new ways by which to connect a carriage road from here to the upper valley of the Arno, Casentino and Romagna and because at the same time he restored this door and made more elegant and functional, demolishing blighted buildings that were pushed together and equalizing the level entry and exit. Florence's optimal and munificent prince."
References
{{Coord, 43, 46, 14.82, N, 11, 16, 14.64, E, type:landmark, display=title
Croce