The most prominent of the protective gates in the onetime medieval city walls, it evokes a bygone era
Not that it did much good
Heading out from the city center along the Via Indipendenza (where the Cathedral of St. Peter is located), the Porta Galliera is one of the remaining gates through the now nonexistent medieval city walls, built around 1200 to protect the papal fortress here. It didn't do its job, however, as uprisings against the church periodically ravaged the area anyway; even this gate was destroyed and rebuilt on various occasions - and finally for good in the 17th century. What you see now is a 20th-century reconstruction, and if you stand out in the quiet plaza before it, you can get a sense of what this city was like centuries ago.
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10 tips to keep your hand baggage
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