Description
Porta Camollia is Siena's north gate, at the end of Via di Camollia, in the territory of the Istrice contrada. For centuries it was the most heavily defended of all, because it was the entrance for anyone arriving from Florence, the city's age-old enemy.
The gate you see today dates from 1604. It was designed by Alessandro Casolani and decorated by the sculptor Domenico Cafaggi. It looks less like a fortress than a welcome arch, and the inscription confirms it.
The welcome is written on the arch: "Cor magis tibi Sena pandit", meaning "Siena opens a heart wider than this gate to you." The inscription recalls the entry into the city of Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici.
Not far away is the Antiporto di Camollia, built in 1270 to better protect the northern entrance. Together with the gate, it shows how a medieval city defended itself: a first barrier outside, the real passage inside the walls.
The gate you see is not the first. The thirteenth-century one was destroyed during the siege of Siena in 1555 and rebuilt in 1604, and its present look dates from that time.
The most famous day in Camollia's history, though, is July 25, 1526. Florentines and papal troops were besieging Siena, camped right outside. The Sienese charged out to the sound of every bell: the invaders fled as far as Castellina in Chianti, and the commander of the papal troops ran off half-naked through the fields.
And the name? Legend ties it to the founding of Siena: Romulus supposedly sent the commander Camulius to capture his nephews Senius and Ascanius, and right here Camulius supposedly pitched his camp. From Camulius, Camollia.
To get your bearings: the gate opens in the walls of Siena at the end of Via di Camollia, and for anyone coming from the north it is where the city truly begins. Its defensive role has always been the most important part of its story: keeping an eye on the road to Florence.
The gate you see today dates from 1604. It was designed by Alessandro Casolani and decorated by the sculptor Domenico Cafaggi. It looks less like a fortress than a welcome arch, and the inscription confirms it.
The welcome is written on the arch: "Cor magis tibi Sena pandit", meaning "Siena opens a heart wider than this gate to you." The inscription recalls the entry into the city of Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici.
Not far away is the Antiporto di Camollia, built in 1270 to better protect the northern entrance. Together with the gate, it shows how a medieval city defended itself: a first barrier outside, the real passage inside the walls.
The gate you see is not the first. The thirteenth-century one was destroyed during the siege of Siena in 1555 and rebuilt in 1604, and its present look dates from that time.
The most famous day in Camollia's history, though, is July 25, 1526. Florentines and papal troops were besieging Siena, camped right outside. The Sienese charged out to the sound of every bell: the invaders fled as far as Castellina in Chianti, and the commander of the papal troops ran off half-naked through the fields.
And the name? Legend ties it to the founding of Siena: Romulus supposedly sent the commander Camulius to capture his nephews Senius and Ascanius, and right here Camulius supposedly pitched his camp. From Camulius, Camollia.
To get your bearings: the gate opens in the walls of Siena at the end of Via di Camollia, and for anyone coming from the north it is where the city truly begins. Its defensive role has always been the most important part of its story: keeping an eye on the road to Florence.