Porta Nuova, Historic gate in Pisa, Italy.
Porta Nuova is a gate opened in 1562 by Cosimo I de' Medici in Pisa's pre-existing medieval walls, near Piazza Manin and an entrance of the Santa Chiara hospital. Two lateral archways were added in the 1930s for pedestrians, and a passage beside the gate, opened for a railway to the hospital in World War I, still exists.
Cosimo I de' Medici, Duke of Florence, had the gate opened in 1562 in the pre-existing medieval walls, not built as a replacement for an older gate. It is called Nuova because it is more recent than the Porta del Leone and Porta Santa Maria, the original entrances to Piazza del Duomo. During the First World War a rail line from San Rossore station entered the Santa Chiara hospital through a gap beside the gate, still visible today.
The gate marked a boundary between the city center and outer areas, dividing the protected urban core from surrounding lands. It shaped how people moved between different parts of Pisa and its surroundings.
Porta Nuova opens onto Piazza Manin, where a few souvenir shops stand and one entrance of the Santa Chiara hospital is located. The university's multidisciplinary Polo Porta Nuova is immediately nearby. The opening beside the gate, cut for the World War I railway spur from San Rossore station to the hospital, still exists and can be seen next to the gate.
The gate was opened in 1562 by Cosimo I de' Medici within the existing medieval walls, not rebuilt over an older gate. Its name means "New" because it came later than the Porta del Leone and Porta Santa Maria, the original entrances toward Piazza del Duomo.
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