Pieces of history among us
(Porta San Niccolo)
I told my friend I wanted to write about the different doors of Florence and he asked me if that was a metaphor for my life here. Um no. Not today at least. What I mean about the doors of Florence are in fact the old doors of the city that were once the portals between Florence and the rest of Italy.
Beginning with the construction of Florence itself by the Romans around the year 30 BC, there have been series of walls constructed around the city to protect it from invaders. As the city grew, the walls were knocked down and expanded to protect the growing population and to protect inhabitants from the constant threat of attack from threatening rivals. The last wall constructed, generally agreed upon to be the 6th wall built around the city, was constructed in the mid-1500s and left open a series of portals to the outside world, some of which are still in tact today.
The nine doors still standing are symbols of the current neighborhoods in which they stand and act as constant reminders that when you enter in Florence, you are entering into a bit of history.
The nine doors still standing are:
Porta al Prato
Porta Faenza
Porta San Gallo
Leads to the Cross
Porta San Niccolo
Porta San Miniato
Porta San Giorgio
Porta Romana
Porta San Frediano
So take a look around while you’re here and check out a bit of history still standing amongst all the bikes, Vespas and cars zooming past them. Snap some pictures and share with us your favorites!
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doors of florence
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porta san frediano
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porta san niccolo
By Admin Apartments Florence (4/22/2011 10:30:18 AM, in Life & Culture, read 413 times)
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