Description
Porta Lecce is one of the surviving gates of Brindisi's old walls, second in importance only to Porta Mesagne. Ferdinand of Aragon had it built, it was completed in 1464, and Emperor Charles V strengthened it in 1530 with forts and curtain walls.
Above the gate you can see three coats of arms: in the center that of Ferdinando Alarcon, the emperor's military architect, on the right that of the city of Brindisi and on the left that of Charles V.
On either side the walls project forward from the gate, so the defenders could better strike anyone approaching. The rooms beside the passage, once used by the soldiers, now host exhibitions and events.
Alarcon's new defenses made Brindisi so hard to take that in 1537 the Turks gave up on invading it.
Above the gate you can see three coats of arms: in the center that of Ferdinando Alarcon, the emperor's military architect, on the right that of the city of Brindisi and on the left that of Charles V.
On either side the walls project forward from the gate, so the defenders could better strike anyone approaching. The rooms beside the passage, once used by the soldiers, now host exhibitions and events.
Alarcon's new defenses made Brindisi so hard to take that in 1537 the Turks gave up on invading it.