St Leonard gate - Porta San Leonardo is one of the oldest gates in Viterbo because it is located on the ancient Etruscan-Roman route that led to Rome. With the opening of the Cassia road, the main gate for those coming from Rome became Roman Gate - Porta Romana and this lost its importance.
During the fifteenth century, therefore, the door was closed and the church of Santa Maria delle Fortezze was built on this site. The church was then bombed during the Second World War and never rebuilt. Its shapes, the bell gable and the silhouette of the church in the lawn in front of the door can be distinguished.
The door has recently been reopened for pedestrian traffic and you can admire a beautiful medieval fresco of a Christ on the Cross above the arch of the door on the side of the city.
Perhaps the name Porta Vallia was given to it because crossing the gate led to Valle di Sant’Andrea.
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