Arco di Marzano

An entrance to the city and its history full of stratifications

The so-called Arco di Marzano incorporates the Porta di Piazza, which is one of the city gates that gave access to the medieval district of Borgonovo, in the upper part of the city.

The construction of the city walls, with its monumental entrances, was started in 1289 at the behest of the sovereign, Charles II of Anjou. The walls partly traced the layout of the walls of the ancient Hipponion. The entrance was located not far from the city Seggio, near the square that constituted the junction connecting the two districts of Borgonovo and Terravecchia. 

Its current appearance is influenced by renovation works carried out in the second half of the fifteenth century, both because of the reconstruction of part of the city wall and the construction, closeby, of the palace of Galeazzo Capialbi, a man at arms from Benevento, who completed his residence in 1514.  Like the nearby residence, the door is also decorated with reused ancient sculptures, placed on the sides of the arch frame. 

When the palace became the property of the Marzano family in the mid-17th century, the door was fully incorporated into the residence with a later construction which had a private terrace on top accessible from the main floor.