History and Evolution

This gate is part of the San Giovanni bastion that was built in the 12th century on a promontory where in Roman times there probably was a small necropolis just outside of the inhabited settlement. This bastion was part of an expansion of the city that reflected both the demographic growth associated with the “medieval warm period” (11th- 14th century), and the defensive needs related with the military actions taken against the nearby city of Narni by Christian of Mainz on 1167 on behalf of Emperor Fedrick I (Barbarossa) ¹ . There is no historical documentation that military action involved in San Gemini, however, being a defensive outpost for Narni, it is reasonable to assume it also came under attack. The only certain date for that area is the epigraph on the front of the church of San Giovanni Battista that dated its construction at 1199 AD. It is fair to assume that the bastion was built a bit earlier or about the same time as the church.

The original San Giovanni gate was located facing Southeast. This gate still exists at the access to the Piazzetta San Giovanni next to the entrance to the lower level of the Monastery of St Augustine. In the first half of the 13th century the city of San Gemini goes through a further expansion of its defensive perimeter, beyond what is now Via Casventino which leaves the 12th century Porta San Giovanni inside this new perimeter thus losing its function as a city gate. This situation brings about the necessity to build two new gates Porta Tuderte on the North side and on the South Porta Burgi. From the 13th century until the 20th century Porta Tuderte remains one of the two access points to the city of San Gemini.

From the 13th century until the 18th century the gate goes through a series of transformations that reflect the changes in the structure and use of the defensive perimeter. The existing gate is like the body of an onion made up of various layers that overlay each other.

The oldest structure of the gate corresponds to the first wall of the San Giovanni Bastion. It was a simple wall, the top of which flanked a small piazza facing the church of San Giovani Battista. Again we do not have any historical documentation about the construction of Porta Tuderte.

Urbanistic logic points to a construction date after the Church of San Giovanni, Battista in 1199, The other side pf the time bracket is set by a stylistic analysis that points to a construction before the second half of the 13th century, when the gothic style becomes predominant in Umbria. Both the Porta Tuderte and Porta Burgi, built at the same time, have semicircular arches consistent with the Romanesque style with no hints of gothic features. They match in style and construction techniques to the earlier Porta San Giovanni and the Portella. By the second half the 13th century, under the influence of the Franciscan order, both religious and public architecture in Umbria is strongly influenced by the gothic style that originated in France.

Besides urban growth the motivation for such further expansion of the city walls is the political instability in Central Italy in this period brought about by the conflict between the Emperor Fedrick II and the Pope. This area of Italy saw repeated conflict; in 1228 Rainaldo di Acquaviva sacks San Gemini1, in1240 the territory of Narni and Todi are sacked by imperial troops. ² What remains of this 13th century gate are: the main arch of the gate, on the city side, the interior stone hinges for the wood door and some stumps of the old wall on the adjacent Monastery of the Magdalena. The South wall of the gate keeper’s house may also incorporate some of the superstructure of the original gate. We do not find evidence of flanking towers that were normally built next to gates. It is possible that they relied on some preexisting towers that were further out perhaps 10 to 20 meters from the gate. The existing cistern on the north side of the church could have been the base of one of those towers defending the bastion.

The creation of the gate strongly altered the nature of the sagrato (space in front of church) of the San Giovanni Battista Church. The new road leading to the gate makes a deep trench in the middle of the small square and creates a very clumsy relation with the front of the church. This road descends steeply, with a difference of about 10 meters between the interior level of the city and the exterior of the gate. there is also evidence that the whole area was lowered by at least one meter. These awkward situations affected the use of the church, which at some later point developed a new entrance and façade on its side facing the existing Piazzetta San Giovanni. It also points to the fact that the gate was probably built in a hurry soon after the construction of the church.

Over time the gate was extended into a tunnel like structure about 15 meters deep. In the 15th century on the East side, a tall defensive tower was built which flanked the gate on one side and on the other side was built against on the north wall of the church. This tower was later incorporated into the church in the late 16th century. traces are still visible on the North wall of the church. This tower had features typical of the late 15th century when defenses were being adapted to artillery. They include inward sloped walls and battlements with rounded tops. It is possible that a similar tower was built on the opposite side of the gate. At present on the western side of the gate there is storage area. It is not clear whether it was part of a defensive tower, but it seems to have been built before the 14-15th century, it is all in stone masonry: later masonry work usually incorporates some clay bricks.

The travel journals of Leandro Alberti, in 1530, describe San Gemini the city as uninhabited and ruined. According to him the damage was done in 1527 by the Venetian army Led by Francesco Maria Della Rovere ³ . This report is not confirmed by other historical documentation, ⁴ San Gemini was most likely looted that same year by the imperial army with the help of the nearby city of Terni. They laid waste to the territory of Narni and Todi. It is quite possible that during this event San Gemini was also attacked and Porta Tuderte heavily damaged. Over the gate there is now an unusual gap in the urban fabric that hints at the loss of some structures, perhaps a flanking tower on the West side of the gate.

Sometime in the 17th century the main body of the gate was vaulted with fired clay bricks and the gate keeper’s house was built above the gate. There is evidence that a stair connected the house to the gate below through, a doorway that is still visible on the East side of the tunnel. By this time developments in artillery had rendered most medieval city walls obsolete from a military point, however, the gates still were in use. They were closed at night for public safety and were used as a toll gate to collect taxes from merchants and farmers bringing goods into the city. In 1530 San Gemini had become a feudal holding of the Orsini family. They collected taxes and in return were supposed to rebuild the city from the war damages and provide government services.

The external façade of the gate was redone in the 18th century when the city had become a feudal holding of the Santa Croce family. In 1703 there was a strong earthquake in the region that damaged the adjacent church. In 1721 the church was restored and probably, at the same time, the exterior façade of the gate was redone to its present condition. As part of this work the code of arms of the Santa Croce family was placed over the gate.

State of Conservation

In the past century this gate has been a major access point for traffic going in and out the city. Since the advent of motorized vehicles, the stonework in the inner tunnel of the gate has been exposed to a concentration of corrosive exhaust fumes that have heavily danged the stones and the mortar that make up the gate.

Notes:

1) Christian I ( Archbishop of Mainz) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_I_(archbishop_of_Mainz)

2) Associazione Federico II Umbria, Federico II e il territorio di Narni, https://www.federico2sveviaumbria.it/2020/06/27/federico-ii-e-il-territorio-di-narni/

3) Frate Leandro Alberti, Descrittione di Tvtta l’Italia , Lodovico degli Avanzi, Venice 1568, Pg. 66,67

4) I have not been able to confirm Alberti’s claim that Francesco Maria Della Rovere was responsible for the looting. Della Rovere was leading a Venetian militia to help Pope Clement VII. This army never reached Rome; during the sacking of that city by the imperial army of Charles V in May of 1527, they were camped at Monterosi near lake Bracciano about 25 miles North of Rome where he joins the Marches of Saluzzo and his troops. ⁵ FMDR had moved from Florence down towards Rome along the Western course of the Via Romea along the Tiber valley to Orvieto and then Monterosi, not down the Via Flaminia where San Gemini is Located. If his troops were involved in the looting of San Gemini, it would have happened in their return North. It is strange that there are no other reports of such behavior by his troops in 1527. In 1517 during the taking of Rimini by FMDR his troop were involved in looting and these events are reported by several sources.

In late summer 1527 epidemics hit Rome and many of the occupying troops of the imperial army leave the city. Spanish, German and Italian troops heading North go to Narni. In July 17 there was a skirmish at Funaria, they camped in nearby Terni, a city that had sided with the emperor. Under the lead of Sciarra Colonna ⁵ , with the help of troops from Terni the imperial troops sacked Narni causing a lot of damage to that city ⁶ . This attack was followed by a pestilence, both of which caused a great number of deaths. It is very possible that during this event the Imperials also attached San Gemini which was part of Narni’s territory.

Though it is not clear who destroyed San Gemini in 1527. It is credible that the city was heavily damaged. My feeling is that it is more plausible that the destruction was done by the imperial armies. It is likely that several armies passed through this area and when Alberti heard the reports, a few years later, there was some confusion as to who was responsible for the damage to San Gemini. It is also conceivable that some locals from Terni were trying to disassociate themselves from their role in these events by blaming the Venetians.

5) https://www.cronologia.it/storia/aa1525a.htm

6) Storia di Terni https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storia_di_Terni

7) Notaio Gregorio Risi, July 14, 1527 , http://www.narnia.it/lanzi.htm