Description of the attraction
Porta Leoni is one of the most ancient city gates of Verona, built in the era of Ancient Rome. Their original name remains unknown. In the Middle Ages, they were called Porta San Fermo by the name of the nearby church, then, in the Renaissance, they were known as Arco di Valerio, and their current name was given to the Lion's Gate from the sculptures of lions that adorned the nearby tomb. Once the road to the city forum began from here, and the gate itself served as an outpost on the way from Bologna and Aquileia - this can be confirmed by the remains of a defensive tower discovered here during excavations. And next to it there is a brick wall - a fragment of an older gate, erected in the 1st century BC.
Porta Leoni was square in shape with a double façade decorated around the perimeter and two towers that faced the countryside. According to archaeologists, the facades had a similar structure - they consisted of two arches 3, 3 meters wide and 5, 25 meters high, which ended with a decorative element made of volcanic tuff in the form of a wave crest 95 cm high. Then there were rows of gaps, thanks to which the total height the gate reached 13 meters! The towers were 4, 24 meters in diameter and 16 "ribs".
Today, only the right half of the inner façade, facing the Forum of Verona and faced with white stone during the imperial period, and the foundations of the towers, have survived from Porta Leoni. Unfortunately, the original decorations have been lost. The lower part of the gate bears a resemblance to the Porta Borsari gate, also located in Verona, and from above you can see the exedra - a semicircular deep niche with twisted columns.
