In the 14th century Giovanni da Nono described the wall surrounding the Padua's nucleus, erected in the late 1200s and early 1300s at the centre of the river island, as a 'most beautiful wall' in the layout of a horseshoe. The map of the muraglie vecchie drawn by Vincenzo Dotto (1623) shows the layout of the 1300s, including the various borgo and the full development under the Carraresi signoria. Angelo Portenari (1623) cites the length at about 3 miles, the height as more than could be ever be scaled by a portable ladder, the depth as being so ample as to be able to walk comfortably above, and so thick as to resist any battering ram. He concludes 'they have not peer in beauty, nor in strength in all Italia, nor perhaps in Europe'. The oldest parts are probably in the area of Ponte Molino, to the north, and those at the eastern part of the island. In 1195, under the podesta of Pagano della Torre, the Commune began the construction of the western part beginning at San Leonardo, running along the main channel of the Bacchiglione River. In 1210, the Torricelle Gate and the southern wall up to San Michele were completed. Between 1256 and 1270 the enclosure was enlarged to the west by the construction of the wall between Saracen and Codalunga gates. Ognissanti Gate was added in 1300. Jacopo I da Carrara erected the tract from Sant'Antonio to Prato della Valle, and Marsilio started the construction to the east, from Porta della Trinita to Pontecorvo, and south from Prato to San Michele. Ubertino, between 1338 and 1345 brought the city walls to completion, giving the overall complex its characteristic appearance as a succession of concentric rings: he enclosed the various borgo that had developed, adjoining them to the river citadel, built a second circle of crenulated walls, and restored the pre- existing bridges and towers. Between 1373 and 1374, Francesco the Elder, harassed by the Venetians, raised the wall between Porciglia, Ognissanti and Portello, then provided for the tower at Bassanello and the wall from Santa Croce to the Saracen Gate. These walls now exist only as fragments. The older walls around the island citadel can be distinguished more easily: from Ponte Molino to Largo Europa, from Via Tolomei to Albertino Mussato Riviera, and along Tito Livio Riviera. From the Carraresi citadel, at the location of present-day Piazzetta Accademia Delia, there remains the San Michele Gate with tower. Parts of the eastern wall are ensconced in buildings and there is piece in the open, along Via Riello. Another piece is visible in Via Acquette. A more important survival is the Soccorso (Refuge), a bulwark for cavalry sorties, the remains of which are found at the foot of the Soccorso Tower, on private grounds. Near the Saracen Gate there are still some guard-wall sections, in Via Ezzelino Balbo. Other walls that composed part of the canal banks are partially visible in the areas of the Botanical Gardens, Pontecorvo, the hospital and the Treves Gardens. A long stretch of the Carraresi walls emerged at Codalunga in 1994, and in 2004 the remains of what appears to be a structure of pilasters and arches came to light at Savonarola Gate. The walls were built of stone blocks, especially trachite, alternating with bands of brick, and also show the 'a sacco' construction technique, where the wall interior is filled stone and brick rubble. The only gates remaining from the 1200s are Ponte Molino and Altinate Gate, and a third ensconced in the 1300s tower at the Castle Moat Gate.
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