Porta Testa in Finalborgo
An ancient medieval gate
The Testa medieval gate opens on the western side of the walls of Finalborgo, from which passed the road that connected with Gorra, Melongo and with the Calice valley. The gate was built by Giovanni I Del Carretto in 1452, as the inscription in gothic characters tells us on the arch:
Mar(chi)o·Io(hannes)·An(n)o·D(omi)ni-M·]C·C·C·C·LII:·die·X·iunii· [(Did) the marquis Giovanni, in the year of the lord 1452, 10th of June].
It gets its name from the fact that the heads of the decapitated were exposed there but in documents it is also called the San Giorgio gate in the 1773 Finalborgo map of Matteo Vinzoni, or called the Bastèro gate or the Viglieri gate.
MORE INFORMATION – Porta Testa in Finalborgo
This gate preserves the original Finale Stone pointed arch medieval structure, delimited by a jagged frame and defended by a bertesca supported by double quarter-circle corbels.
In the monolithic fornix of the ogival arch keystone one can still read, even with the presence of ancient chiselling, the Del Carretto crest surmounted by a bust of an crowned eagle with spread wings in the centre that is flanked by two marquis crowned heart shape crests.
In the 17th century the gate was protected by an impressive circular bastion that was demolished by the construction of the new Pora bridge in 1827.
The gate was extremely reworked at the end of the 19th century with the superimposing of the bell tower and the adding of a bell and the clock in 1909. A crest of the community of the town was painted on the façade while on the inside a fresco was painted representing the Madonna between saints Biagio and Nepomuceno.
HOW TO REACH
PORTA TESTA IN FINALBORGO
How to reache the site
Finalmarina can be reached by car on the A10 motorway and taking the Feglino exit (if coming from Genoa, Turin or Milan) and the Finale Ligure exit (from all directions) or taking the SS1 road, Via Aurelia. There is also the train station of Finale Ligure.
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