Porta Borsari
Tower
South-western city gate
Porta Borsari
From the town gate on the Corso Cavour to Castevecchio
The Porta Borsari was built in the 1st century B.C. and marks the southwestern entrance to the ancient Verona. Originally the town gate was called “Porta Iovia” due to its proximity to the temple of Jupiter. The gate received its name in the middle ages when customs officials (=bursarii) were stationed here who taxed the goods. Similar to the Porta Leoni, the Porta Borsari was designed as a small fortress with guard towers, which enclosed a courtyard. Today you can only see the remains of towers facing away from the city.
If you move from the Porta Borsari south on the Corso Cavour, you walk on a 2,000-year-old road. In Roman times the road connected Genoa, Verona and Trieste. The numerous palaces along the road to the Castelvecchio are of particular interest. The Palazzo Bevilacqua and the Palazzo Canossa were both built by Sanmicheli in 1530. In addition to many architectural styles and interesting little details, the high-water marks of the Adige river, which flooded Verona several times in its history, can be seen on many buildings.
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