The historic center of Assisi is surrounded by a ring of ancient medieval walls. At its highest point stands a large castle called Rocca Maggiore. On the east side is the Rocca Minore, also called Rocchicciola.
City walls Assisi
History and description
Actually, the city wall of Assisi consists of two rings, built in different eras. The inner ring existed before the year 1200. The outer one dates back to the end of the 13th century.
Since the older of the two walls reached only as far as the Porta San Giorgio, the Basilica of Santa Chiara (only built in 1260) lay outside it. The people wanted it to be protected as well, so a second wall was built. The Porta Nuova then replaced the former Porta Santa Chiara as the eastern gateway to the city.
In general, both the city walls and the gates have been preserved in good condition. At the moment there are eight city gates in the defensive wall around Assisi. The most famous ones are the Porta San Francesco and the Porta San Pietro.