The Pusterla di Sant’Ambrogio (''
Postern
A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location which allowed the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern ...
of Saint Ambrose'' in English) is a minor or secondary gate in the
Medieval walls of Milan; the rebuilt
Romanesque-style tower and pedestrian arches is located on Via Carducci #41, near the
Castello Cova and some 50 meters west of the entrance of the
Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio in the center of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, region of Lombardy, Italy.
The medieval walls of Milan were constructed after multiple disasters had devastated Milan, including 11th-century urban fires and a highly destructive sack by the emperor
Barbarossa
Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to:
* Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor
* Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral
* Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Un ...
in 1162. This postern was one of the ten secondary gates and until the 1930s, its outer face was near the bank of a
navigli (canal),
[The navigli also served as moats.] which ran along the present via Carducci.
In the 16th century, when a new larger set of walls and moats were completed under the Spanish administration of the city, and the ''Pusterla of Saint Ambrose'' was turned into a prison. In 1939 this postern was restored to a more original form, stripping buildings and homes that had been added over the centuries.
The ''Pusterla di Sant’Ambrogio'' is sited near the
Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio (official name: ''Basilica romana minore collegiata abbaziale prepositurale di Sant'Ambrogio'') is a church in the center of Milan, northern Italy.
History
One of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by ...
, one of the most ancient and important churches in Milan. Above the two arches of the gate there is a tabernacle with three icons, depicting
Saint Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
, the city's patron;
Saint Gervase
Saints Gervasius and Protasius (also Saints Gervase and Protase, Gervasis and Prothasis and in French ''Gervais and Protais'') are venerated as Christian martyrs, probably of the 2nd century. They are the patron saints of Milan and of haymakers a ...
; and
Saint Protase.
Sources and links
*
*''Le città d'arte:Milano'', Guide brevi Skira, ed.2008, autori vari. (Italian language edition)
Tourist attractions in Milan
Romanesque architecture in Milan
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