The Porta Saragozza of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

was one of the gates or portals in the medieval walls of this city. The gate was built in the 13-14th centuries, and by 1334 it was provided with a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

crossing a moat. It was not used much until 1674, when the long

Portico di San Luca A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

was built from the center of town to the

Basilica della Beata Vergine di San Luca The Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca is a basilica church in Bologna, northern Italy, sited atop a forested hill, Colle or Monte della Guardia, some 300 metres above the city plain, just south-west of the historical centre of the city. While ...

, used in yearly procession of an icon. From then on it became also known as the “Porta Sacra” or the “Porta dei pellegrini” (Holy Gate and Gate of Pilgrims) for its placement in the route towards the Sanctuary of San Luca. In 1859, concordant with a rising movement to restore medieval remnants in Italian cities, the architect

Giuseppe Mengoli Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...

, replaced the mediaeval ''cassero'' with the present one by connecting it with two crenellated arches to the two lateral cylindrical great towers, giving it its present castle-like form.Bologna Welcome
official tourist site of Commune. About nine of the original twelve gates remain in the third set of circumvallating 14th-century walls (''Cerchia del Mille'') of Bologna. These include the Porta Maggiore (or Mazzini), Porta Castiglione, Porta Saragozza (this article),

Porta San Felice Porta can refer to: People * Porta (rapper) (born 1988), stagename of Christian Jiménez Bundo, a Spanish rap singer * Bernardo Porta (1758–1829), Italian composer active in France * Bianca Della Porta (born 1991), Canadian ice hockey and rugby ...

, Porta delle Lame,

Porta Galliera Porta can refer to: People * Porta (rapper) (born 1988), stagename of Christian Jiménez Bundo, a Spanish rap singer * Bernardo Porta (1758–1829), Italian composer active in France * Bianca Della Porta (born 1991), Canadian ice hockey and rugby ...

, Porta Mascarella, Porta San Donato, and

Porta San Vitale Porta can refer to: People * Porta (rapper) (born 1988), stagename of Christian Jiménez Bundo, a Spanish rap singer * Bernardo Porta (1758–1829), Italian composer active in France * Bianca Della Porta (born 1991), Canadian ice hockey and rugby ...

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century