Porta degli Angeli, Renaissance city gate in Ferrara, Italy.
Porta degli Angeli is a rectangular tower standing at the northern end of Corso Ercole I d'Este, featuring a guard house and a restored metal bridge. The structure displays clear design elements that show how it functioned as a passage point with defined defensive characteristics.
The tower was built at the start of the 16th century as part of the Addizione Erculea, the urban plan commissioned by Ercole I d'Este in 1492 and completed by architect Biagio Rossetti. In the 16th century a guardhouse was added and the gate became an armed stronghold linked to a ravelin by a wooden bridge. In January 1598 Cesare d'Este and his retinue passed through it for the last time, leaving Ferrara for Modena after the devolution to the Papal State, and the gate was then closed.
The gate takes its name from the angels and marks the northern terminus of one of the city's most important thoroughfares. Visitors can observe today how the structure served multiple roles in the community across different periods.
Visitors can climb the restored spiral staircase to reach observation points within the tower and view the surrounding area from above. Wearing comfortable shoes is advisable, as the stairs are narrow and steep.
The gate is popularly but wrongly called the house of the executioner; the name likely comes from the squeals of pigs slaughtered there when it served as a pork abattoir in the 19th century, sounds that resembled human laments.
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