Porta San Giovanni, Medieval city gate in San Gimignano, Italy.
Porta San Giovanni is the southernmost and largest gate in San Gimignano's walls, completed in 1262. It has a low Sienese-style arch and an overhanging upper guardroom resting on corbels decorated with three-lobed hanging arches. The bell tower of the former church of the Madonna dei Lumi, built in 1601, is still visible beside it.
Completed in 1262, Porta San Giovanni was the southern entry into San Gimignano for travellers arriving from Siena along the variant of the Via Francigena that passed through the town. It is the most monumental of the town's gates, and its lower masonry still carries the projecting upper guard post.
The gate was the southern entry for pilgrims coming from Siena along the variant of the Via Francigena that passed through San Gimignano. Beside it stood the nave of the church of the Madonna dei Lumi, built in 1601 and partly demolished in 1922 to clear the obstructed road; its bell tower is still visible from outside the gate.
The gate stands at the southern end of San Gimignano's walls, reachable on foot from the centre. It faces the piazzale dei Martiri di Montemaggio, where the convent of San Francesco once stood. The church tower of Madonna dei Lumi is visible from outside the gate.
The small church of Madonna dei Lumi was built against the gate's side in 1601; its nave was partly demolished in 1922 to clear the obstructed road, but its bell tower can still be seen from outside the gate. In front of the gate lies the piazzale dei Martiri di Montemaggio, where the destroyed convent of San Francesco once stood.
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