The southern entrance to the Angevin city walls
The gate, one of the seven that gave access to the medieval settlement of Borgonovo, was located at the southern end of the medieval city walls. It was built on the initiative of Charles II of Anjou between the end of the thirteenth century and the beginning of the fourteenth century, following part of the ancient Greek walls. Its name refers to the client who, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, promoted the renewal of the defenses in the area, Ermengaud de Sabran, count of Ariano and d'Apice until 1417.
The arch, in a partial state of ruin, is flanked on one side by a cylindrical tower, according to medieval use, while on the other it adjoins the back of the church of the Madonna dei Poveri. On the door frame there was an inscription in vernacular and Greek, reduced to fragments by the earthquake of 1783, which alluded to a famine that occurred in the fourteenth century and to the generosity of a family of the city's elite, who intervened to make stored grain available to the population.
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