1. Outside the walls: view from the present day Piazza del Sole

Travellers approaching Bellinzona from the north entered the town through a gateway situated in the middle of the town wall which ran down the hillside from Montebello Castle to the rock on which Castelgrande stands. The area outside the Porta Codeborgo gateway, also known as Porta Tedesca or Porta Ticinese, was particularly marshy and constantly subject to flooding by the River Ticino and the Daro stream, which both fed the moat at the foot of the wall. The entrance was shielded by a “rivellino”, or triangular shaped outwork, surrounded by its own moat and equipped with two drawbridges, one which afforded access to the outwork and another which led from the “rivellino” to the gatehouse of Porta Codeborgo. The gateway, which was closed at night, had a dual purpose: as well as a checkpoint for goods passing through, the gateway and outwork acted as an efficient barrier to keep out frequent epidemics of diseases such as the plague. The right hand tower, positioned at the foot of the rock and restored in 1931, was built in 1478 by Master builder Giovanni da Meride during the Sforza era when the whole of the wall was raised in height and strengthened.

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