Over the centuries, three defensive walls have shaped Todi‘s expansion. The first of these was in the 3rd century BC and was Etruscan in nature. The second wall was built in Roman times and the most recently constructed city wall dates back to the Middle Ages.
City walls Todi
Useful information
The city walls can be seen from outside.
History and description
Large parts of the ancinet city walls walls have been lost in the course of the centuries. Other stretches are still standing and multiple entrance gates in these walls can have survived. A 1625 city map “L’antichissima città di Todi“, made by M. Valentini and Giacomo Lauro, which can be seen in the City Museum of Todi, provides information about where the disappeared parts of the defensive walls used to be.
The walls
Oldest wall
Of the inner city wall, only the Porta Marzia, on the same street that leads to the Porta Catena, has survived. Three other city gates (the Porta della Valle, the Porta Liminaria and the Porta Bonella) have completely disappeared.
Middle City Wall Todi
The gates in the middle city wall belong to the different districts in the center of Todi. The Porta Aurea arrives at the Borgo di Porta Fratta, the Porta Catena (also called Porta Sant’Antonio) is the entrance gate to the Borgo Ulpiano (now Via Matteotti) and the Porta di Santa Prassede is situated at the beginning of the Borgo Nuovo.
Outer City Wall Todi
The outer wall is, logically, the most recently constructe one. The Porta Perugina, the Porta Romana, the Porta Fratta (which used to be called Porta Amerina) have survived. Of the Porta Orvietana, but very little remains. These gates, of course, were named after the cities they led to.
The Porta Libera, near the Parco della Rocca, was also built in the Middle Ages. Another city gate from this era, the Porta di San Giorgio, which stood in front of the Tempio della Consolazione, no longer exists.
City towers
Of the large numbers of towers that used to exist along the medieval, outer city wall, little remains except the tower for the Tempio della Consolazione. This can still be admired in its original state, with the corbels, buttresses and parts of the drawbridge.