Porta Camollìa is one of the northern portals in the medieval walls of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. It is located on via Camollia and opens inside the city into the

Contrada A (plural: ) is a subdivision (of various types) of Italian city, now unofficial. Depending on the case, a will be a ''località'', a ''rione'', a ''quartiere'' (''terziere'', etc.), a '' borgo'', or even a suburb. The best-known are the 1 ...

of Istrice. Consisting of three arches; the inner arch is surmounted by a circular marble bas-relief with the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

''IHS''

Christogram A Christogram ( la, Monogramma Christi) is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldes ...

inside a sun symbol (

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

Christogram). The outer facade has the Medici heraldic shield with a stone arch added in 1604 by

Alessandro Casolani Alessandro Casolani (1552–1606) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, active mainly in Siena. Biography He was also called ''Alessandro della Torre''. He was born at Siena, and was the pupil of Ventura Salimbeni and of Cristofo ...

and decorated by Domenico Cafaggi. The inscription was placed to record the entry of

Ferdinand I de' Medici Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 3 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. Early life Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at t ...

into Siena, and states ''Cor magis tibi sena pandit'' (Siena shows a heart that is bigger than this gate). The two central figures hold the Medici coat of arms.Siena Guida Virtuale
entry.

History

The name comes from the legend regarding the founding of Siena, that a soldier by the name of Camulio had been sent to Siena by the founder of Rome,

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...

, to capture his nephews Senio and Ascanio. However, Camulio instead stayed and built a town around the area of the portal. Over the centuries, this gate, which lead towards Florence was often the most defended. The original gate, built during the 13th century was razed during the 1555 siege of Siena. About forty meters outside of the gate, at the start of via Vittorio Emanuele II is the small renaissance-style Oratorio del Santo Sepolcro. A few hundred meters north along the same street rises the ''Antiporto di Camollia'', an additional fortification built to defend this access to the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena () is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. It w ...

Bibliography

Umbria, Marche Guida d'Italia''
(Guida rossa), Touring Club Italiano, Milano 2002. {{Coord, 43.32766, N, 11.325385, E, type:landmark, display=title Camollia Buildings and structures completed in 1604 1604 establishments in Italy