DOOR OF THE BOROUGH (Porta del borgo)

HISTORY

Historical sources state that the borgo of Bagnaia had different entrances (small doors) during Medieval times. The two most important were located at two ends of the borgo, one on the south side and one on the north side. The first was near the church of Santo Stefano and the other between the church of Santa Maria and the city hall palace (which corresponds to the location of the existing door) on top of the castle. In 1541, as reported by Canon Angelo Carones in the Memorie Istoriche della terra di Bagnaia, we learn that the newly appointed cardinal, Niccolò Ridolfi, to ennoble the land of Bagnaia, thought it necessary to construct a new door.  At his own expense, he demolished part of the Church of San Giovanni Battista, and in the area of the old rooms of the church, he built a new door to the borgo. With the closure of the first door, the new door assumed enormous importance as the only access to the borgo, especially for the transport of wagons and carriages of the nobility into the cardinal’s palace. Today, it is still possible to see, on the ceiling of the gallery of the gate, the heraldic coat of arms of Cardinal Ridolfi, commemorating the commissioning of the work.
In that same stage of work a square tower was built to protect the gate. A gatekeeper lived in the tower and was in charge of it. In 1582, the wooden drawbridge that initially allowed entrance into the borgo “connecting the door to the land,” was replaced with a more secure and lasting bridge made of brick and peperino stone. In 1616, on the right wall of the gallery, a large window was built in order to allow passersby the ability to admire the miraculous image of the Madonna della Porta, that had been taken from its original location, in front of the door, and was transported here.
Since then, there has been no other important work affecting the gate, other than normal maintenance work. The gate has maintained the same appearance as it has today.

DESCRIPTION

The gate to the borgo, located in the south side of the town, faces the bridge that connects Viale Fiume with Piazza XX Settembre.
The gate, the only access to the borgo, is closed at the side of the clock tower and at the side of the square tower, which is now the end of the church of Madonna della Porta. At one time, the tower was used as the home of the gatekeeper of the borgo. The arch of the gate conserves on top, the coat of arms of Pope Alessandro VII (A four-sided emblem with mountains and an oak tree). Here was the location of the transfer of the lease for three generations of the Villa and the palazzo delle Logge. The decoration of the gate is formed by a simple arch with a low ceiling, composed of four stones framing the keystone and two piedritti, which support the arch. The arch of the inner part of the gate is decorated with simple ashlar. The interior of the gallery of the door is decorated only by the architectural parts that make it up; two moldings that define the connection of the ceiling; they are gray on a white background. On the left wall is a small door that allowed entrance into the sacristy of the Church of the Rosario, and there are two other small doors that allow entrance into private homes. On the right are a few small wooden doors that, at one time, allowed access to the premises of the guards and the gatekeeper; now it is private property. At the center of the ceiling of the gallery is the emblem, in stucco, of Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi is visible. It was affixed in 1541, the year of the door’s creation. Inside the Piazza Castello, the arch of the door is decorated in ashlar, and on the keystone is the emblem of Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi.

Translation by Lauren Williamson, Texas A&M University, enrolled in the USAC Viterbo program at the Università degli Studi della Tuscia

ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

S. ALBANESE; Tecnica e restauri dei dipinti dell’Oratorio del Gonfalone. Tesi di Laurea dell’università degli studi della Tuscia, Viterbo A.A.  2002/2003.
A. BATTELLOCCHI; Il palazzo della loggia di Bagnaia. Tesi di Laurea dell’università degli studi della Tuscia, Viterbo A.A.  2002/2003.A.
S. BRESCIA; Il Lavatoio di Via degli Orti è un monumento storico, in La Loggeta, I, 2014 Viterbo. Pag. 142.
F. BUSSI;  Istoria della città di Viterbo, Roma 1742.
A. CARONES; Memorie Istoriche della terra di Bagnaia. Raccolte dal sacerdote Arcangelo Carones. manoscritto pubblicato a cura dell’Associazione Amici di Bagnaia Arte e Storia. Viterbo 1983.
A. CAROSI; Le epigrafi medievali di Viterbo, Viterbo 1986.
L. DELLA ROCCA, Gli Affreschi della chiesa di S. Stefano a Bagnaia e la società delle disciplinatrici nel tardo medioevo. Viterbo, 2002.
L. DELLA ROCCA, Gli Affreschi della chiesa di S. Stefano a Bagnaia e la società delle disciplinatrici nel tardo medioevo. in Biblioteca e Società, II. Viterbo, 2002.
O. EGIDI; Castel di Salce, in DE MINICIS (a cura di), Insediamenti rupestri medievali della Tuscia, Roma 2003, p. 102.
I. FALDI; Pittori Viterbesi di cinque secoli. Roma, 1970.
G. FERRO; Le mura medievali di Vitorchiano, in GUIDONI E., DE MINICIS, E., (a cura di),
Le mura medievali del Lazio. Studi sull’area viterbese, Roma 1993, pp. 61-75,
F. FOPPOLI; Le mura medievali di Barbarano Romano, in GUIDONI, E., DE MINICIS, E., (a cura di).
Le mura medievali del Lazio. Studi sull’area viterbese, Roma 1993, pp. 76-85.
F. FOPPOLI; VISINO S., Case con portico di Barbarano Romano, in GUIDONI E., DE MINICIS E. (a cura di) Case e torri medievali I, Roma 1996, pp. 179-185.
V. FRITTELLI; Bagnaia. “Cronache d’una terra del Patrimonio”, Viterbo 1977.
I. GIORGI, U. BALZANI (a cura di), Il regesto di Farfa di Gregorio di Catino, Roma 1879-1914.
S. GRAZZIOTTI; Bagnaia, frammenti di storia in La Loggetta, 88, lugl – sett 2011. Pag. 70
A. LANCONELLI; Dal castrum alla civitas: il territorio viterbese tra VIII e XI secolo, in “Società e storia”, 56 (1992), pp. 245-266.
J. LE GOFF; L’immaginario medievale, Bari 1998.
C. PINZI; Gli ospizi medievali e l’Ospedal Grande di Viterbo, Viterbo 1983.
C.  PINZI;  Storia della città di Viterbo, Roma 1913.
C. PINZI; Il castello e la villa di Bagnaia, Viterbo 1908.
C. PINZI; Storia della città di Viterbo, Roma 1913,
G. SERONE. Le mura medievali di Bagnaia. Analisi diacronica di un manufatto architettonico, in Il Tesoro delle città Strenna dell’Associazione storia delle città. 2007. PP. .473 – 491.
G. SIGNORELLI; Viterbo nella storia della Chiesa, Viterbo 1907.
C. SCIVOLA, L’amministrazione del patrimonio della Confraternita del Gonfalone di Bagnaia; Tesi di Laurea dell’università degli studi della Tuscia, Viterbo A.A. 2003/2004.
C. SCIVOLA, La confraternita del Gonfalone di Bagnaia; Tesi di Laurea dell’università degli studi della Tuscia, Viterbo A.A.  2002/2003.

Fonti
I. CIAMPI, Cronache e statuti della città di Viterbo, Firenze 1872, pp. 417-418;
A. ROSSI, Spogli vaticani, in Giornale di e
rudizione artistica, VI (1877), pp. 204 s.;
C. PINZI, Memorie e documenti inediti sulla Basilica di S. Maria della Quercia a Viterbo, in Arch. stor. dell’arte, III (1890), pp. 300-305 con App. di documenti; Id., Gli Ospizi medioevali e l’Ospedale Grande di Viterbo, Viterbo 1893, p. 134 e documenti XXII, XXIII in App.
G. SIGNORELLI, Viterbo nella storia della Chiesa, Viterbo 1938, II, I, pp. 224 s., 237, 265, 273; 2, p. 395.