| The city walls have had several entrances knocked through them at more confident points in Zadar's history. Some of them were walled up for good, but four remain as the vital link between the town within the walls and the sea outside them.
The Venetians built the Land Gate - then the main entrance into the city - on the little Foša harbour in 1543. It's considered one of the finest monuments of the Venetian rule in Dalmatia, and has the form of a triumphal arch with a central passage for wheeled traffic, and two smaller side arches for pedestrians. It's decorated with motifs such as St Chrysogonus (Zadar's main patron saint) on his horse, and the Shield of St Mark (the coat of arms of the Republic of Venice). Previously, the area had been highly defensive, with a surrounding moat.
Between the ferryport and market is the Harbour Gate (also known as St Chrysogonus' Gate, because of its proximity to the church of the same name), built in 1573 to celebrate the victory of the Christian fleet over the Turks at Lepanto. Near the bridge on the north side is the neo-Renaissance Bridge Gate, knocked through by the Italians only 70 years ago, and leading directly to Narodni trg and the Kalelarga. Further west, by the old Arsenal, is the fourth and smallest gate, named after St Rocco, connecting the Three Wells Square with the harbour area. |