Porta San Giovanni - San Gimignano - Tuscany

Porta San Giovanni is the most beautiful and impressive gate of San Gimignano. The gate opens onto Piazzale dei Martiri di Montemaggio, which used to be the site of the Monastery of Saint Francis.

The gate gave access to the city from the south and was the historic gateway for those coming from Siena along the section of Via Francigena that ran through San Gimignano.

Completed in 1262, the gate has a Sienese arch, topped by a sentry that juts out and rests on the lower wall with its series of small arches.

In 1601 the sentry stood in the doorway of the church of Madonna dei Lumi, which was demolished in 1922 to clear the way. Today only a small bell tower remains of the church that can be seen outside the walls.

Willem Vandenameele