Opened in 1374 in the remains of the Fortress of Porta Sole, it replaced an earlier existing gate (1273) in the medieval walls of the north side of the town. The exterior brick walls are 16th century fortifications.
It is here that the Piedmont army entered the town in 1859 and liberated Perugia from the Church. Just a little further on, in Via Pompili, the important Etruscan tomb of the Cutu was discovered in 1983. The tomb is now in the Archaeological Museum.