The Porta del Verziere

The gate is part of the Renaissance walls of Montone and was built after 1378, when in a report dated 1374, the officer of Porta Sant’Angelo of Perugia entrusted the task of reorganising and restructuring the fortress and the defensive structures of Montone to Oddo Fortebracci, father of Braccio di Montone. This intervention was decisive for the construction of the defensive structures of the lower part of the town. The Verziere gate is double because it provided a second line of defence; the walls which are built against the high hill on which Montone stands, have different characteristics from the previous ones, namely modernity, primarily as a result of the evolution of military technology. Due to the development of firearms, the curtain walls were equipped with a wide scarp and corner turrets filled with earth, which allowed the canon shots to be absorbed in a less damaging way, a pomerium which allowed defenders greater freedom of movement, and finally round openings for cannons at the base of the towers for grazing fire.