Porta di San Frediano

"Porta San Frediano was founded in 1333, probably designed by Andrea Pisano. With its 20.60 meters by 17.35 meters, it has an imposing and austere appearance and is the largest gate in the entire Florentine city walls. The opening is made up of four large arches joined to “volticciole” with machicolations; in the center of the first arch, both inside and outside, there is a stone lily. The gate was lowered in the 16th century and covered with a brick gable roof, with openings for controlling the city. The original gate of Porta San Frediano, still present, is 12 meters high and is the largest of the Florentine ones and is made up of three openings, one for the entire volume of the arch, one for the passage of carts and one for pedestrians. The door is made of oak wood and has a thickness that ranges from about 20cm in the highest part to over 40cm in the base, the large nails and the squares with the frames served to give greater resistance to the structure. Next to the door there is an ancient "postierla" or a small door that was used for pedestrian passage, near it there are two stone brackets on which the wooden ladder was placed to climb the walls."

"One of the standing gates to the city. Along the walls there is a small fruit and vegetable market and some outlet ceramics as well. Tiny market for the locals."