Porta Soprana

Gate Genoa, Italy

The Porta Soprana or Porta di Sant'Andrea (in Ligurian Pòrta de Sant'Andria) was one of the entrance gates to the city of Genoa. Among the main medieval stone architectures of the Ligurian capital, it is located on the top of the Piano di Sant'Andrea (a short distance from the hill of the same name, leveled at the beginning of the 20th century), from which it takes its name (the name Soprana is instead a corruption from Superana: the gate was so called because it was raised above the city level). It was already one of the gateways to the city at the time of the second Genoese wall (9th or 10th century); however, the current construction - following extensive restoration work carried out under the direction of Alfredo D'Andrade - reproduces the aspect that the gate must have had at the time of its reconstruction during the construction of the third wall (Barbarossa's Walls, 1155-1159) . Not far from it is the house-museum of Christopher Columbus. Both the museum poles of the gate towers and the house of Columbus are open to the public and can be visited.