The newly restored Porta San Frediano was inaugurated on March 25 after a project totalling nearly 450,000 euro.
Part of the city’s fourteenth-century walls, the eight-metre-wide gateway was built between 1332 and 1334, based on a design attributed to Andrea Pisano. The new additions include the installation of internal lighting fixtures and iron handrails.
The side of the archway facing the city centre holds a pietra serena shield with the Florentine coat of arms, while on the opposite end is a plaque commemorating the fallen soldiers of World War II, added in August 1951.
Porta San Frediano has undergone various alterations over the centuries, including a reduction in height during the years preceding the siege of Florence (1529–30) to better adapt it to military use of cannons and firearms. The roof and its brickwork were renovated in 1919 and 1928, and a general restoration took place in the 1960s.
This latest restoration also introduced new safety measures to stabilize the commemorative plaques as well as sections in danger of detaching, consolidating the sandstone structure and reviewing the roof. Guided tours of the upper floor will soon be offered, with more information to be released at a later date.
