Medieval arch of Gavignano

The arch at the entrance to the town testifies to the medieval origins of Gavignano (10th century).

Originally, the ancient fortress was protected by a row of high and mighty walls interrupted by two access doors. The minor or door was located on the southern side of the walls and therefore faced the Tiber plain; no wall remains of this entrance, probably because it was incorporated into the new buildings during the adaptation and transformation of the fortress into a ducal palace.

What we can still admire instead is the arch of the main gate, once placed to protect the northern walls and strengthened by the presence of a defense tower. In the eighteenth century, having now lost their defensive role, the surrounding walls in front of the parish church were lowered, only to be finally demolished in the 1950s together with the ancient tower which had already been previously reduced and adapted to a private residence.

The square, as well as the door dominated by the clock and the hour bells, was restored in 1993 based on a project by the architect Ezio Scattolini.