Called Soprana (literally, ‘the highest’) because of its majestic location on the highest spot dominating the plain of Sant’Andrea, this gate used to be the eastern city gate, one of five openings within the round of the Barbarossa Walls, so called because they were build in record time between 1155 and 1159, with the aid of the majority of the citizens, to protect the city from the expansionist aims of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Nowadays, the two tall towers mark the boundary between the old town centre and the modern city. On the inside of the archway leading into the old town centre there is a medieval Latin inscription warning foreigners against harbouring aggressive intentions, as the Genoese are well able and prepared to defend themselves.
Next to the gateway are the remains of the Romanesque cloister of Saint Andrew, which once belonged to a convent that was knocked-down in 1904 to make room for the opening of Via Dante. This is a truly romantic corner of Genoa where tourists love to have their picture taken.