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 placed in concealed locations, allowing inconspicuous entrance and exit. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a s ...

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 ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 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 Uni ...

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 The navigli (; ) are a system of interconnected canals in and around Milan, in the Italian region of Lombardy, dating back as far as the Middle Ages. The system consists of five canals: Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese, Naviglio Martesana, Navi ...

(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, officially known as ''Basilica romana minore collegiata abbaziale prepositurale di Sant'Ambrogio'', is an ancient Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church located in the center of Milan, in the region of Lombardy, ...

, 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 (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

, the city's patron; Saint Gervase; and

Saint Protase Protasius (anglicized Protase) may refer to: *Protasius (martyr) *Protasius (bishop of Milan), reigned 328–343, saint *Protasius, an archbishop of Tarragona in 637–646 * (died ) * (died 1482), bishop of Olomouc {{hndis ...

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 {{Italy-struct-stub