| It is the triumph arch as well as the symbol of the Baroque of Martina, which leads to the old village. The town door was part of the old, medieval defensive system, called Ianua Antiqua, and it was located slightly further south. Its aspect was the one of a towered door. Its modern location was due to the reconstruction of the town door in the 18th century, and the name was taken from the church opposite, once dedicated to Santo Stefano. The town door was erected in 1764 thanks to the public money, as it is clearly reported on the cartouche. Stylistically speaking, the most refined part is the cornice’s, which is marked by soft and undulated lines. Laterally, two torches stand out, which rise on two flat serpentines. This will be a very recurring motif in the Baroque decoration of Martina. Above the curvilinear cornice, there is the statue of San Martino, the town’s patron, in a belligerent stance. According to a legend, the statue celebrates the miraculous appearance of the saint on the walls, followed by a crowd of knights, on 16th June 1529 when he made the so-called cappelletti flee away; they were the mercenaries of Fabrizio Maramaldo, and had besieged the town for some days. According to the legend, the town was safe thanks to the miraculous intervention of San Martino and Sant’Antonio da Padova, who followed the saint patron from behind. In the Forties, the arch was dismantled and reconstructed; since then, the lithic statues of the Holy Mary with the Infant Jesus and praying angels were placed on the arch’s counter-façade, which overlooks piazza Roma. However, they most probably had a different location originally. Today the town door is also called of Sant’Antonio, referring to the church of Sant’Antonio, which was previously named after Santo Stefano. Under the arch there is a plaque in remembrance of the visit of Pope Giovanni Paolo II in 1989. |