In April 1297, as recorded in the Statutes of Spoleto, construction of the new city walls began, which were wider than the ancient Roman walls. The expansion of the five quarters, including San Gregorio, forced the local government to encircle the city with wooden structures and moats even before 1254.

At that time, Piazza Garibaldi was known as Campo di San Gregorio and the main northern entrance to the city was the 14th-century gate of San Gregorio built into the imposing city wall.

At the end of the 13th century, the area underwent several transformations due to continuous flooding of the Tessino River. The bridge was buried and forgotten. Documents relate that a bridge made of wood was used before a new one was built.

Around the mid-15th century, a new bridge was probably built to the north to cross the shifted river.

In the 16th century, a new gate was erected, probably to replace the gate of San Gregorio, which is remembered for its inscription celebrating the victorious defence of the city against Hannibal’s troops.

In the first half of the 19th century, the first cadastre known as the Gregorian cadastre was drawn up, from which the consistency of the fabric within the city walls already emerged.

In 1825, Cardinal Landini Luigi, commissioned by Pope Leo XII, built the new gate, an imposing gatehouse structure at the northern entrance to the city, well documented in many period pictures.

In 1843, a plan was approved for the construction of the Traversa Nazionale Interna by architect Ireneo Aleandri, aimed at improving city traffic and modernising the ancient Roman and medieval centre. The work was completed in 1870.

This artery, in the wake of the large-scale urban redevelopment of those years brought about by improved hygienic conditions, ran through the entire historic centre. Starting from Viale Matteotti through Piazza della Libertà, one entered the upper city until reaching Porta Leonina, from which one exited the centre and continued north on the via Flaminia along the new Garibaldi Bridge.

Until the second half of the 19th century, the city of Spoleto played an important role. The rich palaces and monuments bear witness to its glorious past, it was the capital of a vast Duchy and finally a Papal See.

But after 1860, Spoleto lost its prestige and had to cede its role as regional capital to Perugia. In return, however, considerable funds arrived that made it possible to build schools, boarding schools and barracks.

In 1920, engineer Zicari Vincenzo was commissioned to draw up a new town plan (a 1909 one existed), a tool that was supposed to meet the growing demand for urban growth and the completion of a modern road system, this time a bypass to the centre that would run mostly along the outer walls along the stream called Staffolo, today known as Tessinello, until it reached the wide open area where Piazza della Vittoria stands today, near the north gate. This planning instrument was postponed by the Prefecture and never approved by the Ministry.

The area outside the gate towards the bridge, today’s Piazza della Vittoria, was vacant and where the gardens stand today, livestock and truffle markets were held along the arcades of the surrounding buildings.

During the twenty years under the fascist regime, from 1922 to 1943, Spoleto was an actual building yard. Many works were carried out on buildings, continued on the infrastructure to improve the new bypass road to the centre, today’s Viale Martiri della Resistenza, and many historic buildings, entire sections of medieval walls and towers were demolished, including most probably the one to the north near San Gregorio, which was the largest of all. In those years, the existing bridge was widened and provided with pavements on either side.

The city administration acquired some private properties, some belonging to the parish of San Gregorio, in order to build a road connection between Piazza Garibaldi and Via Loreto Vittori.

During the 1930s, many road works were carried out, as well as sidewalks, renovations and sewage systems. In those years, other properties were expropriated to create a junction between Via Flaminia and Viale Trento e Trieste, probably as we see it today.

In 1929, the large area to the left of the gate, outside San Gregorio, was landscaped and the Piazzale dei Tigli, corresponding to the current gardens of Piazza Vittoria, was created.

In 1934, Piazza Garibaldi was paved and provided with sidewalks.

In 1942, the city commissioned engineer Mario Zocca and architect Enzo Milani to draw up the new town plan while the city was experiencing a moment of growth and industrial development (e.g. the foundation of the Hydroelectric Company that powered the city’s public lighting system).

During the Second World War in 1944, however, the area of Piazza della Vittoria and Piazza Garibaldi was heavily bombed, resulting in extensive damage. The city gate, adjacent building curtains and many buildings facing Piazza Garibaldi were destroyed.

The rubble remained for a long time, as evidenced by many period photos and postcards, as post-war reconstruction plans struggled to get the parties involved to agree.

The first act of urban planning in the post-war period, albeit with obvious limitations due to the nature of the sector instrument, was in 1947, when the partial Reconstruction Plan drawn up by Zocca and Milani was approved, which mainly concerned the area of Piazza Vittoria and Piazza Garibaldi.

In 1964, a public competition was announced to design the new northern entrance gate to the city, and the winning project was the one presented by engineer Mario Zocca and architect Enzo Milani, which included not only the reconstruction of the new gate but also a system to bring the ponte sanguinario to light.

Widespread discord and reduced financial resources led to the construction of the sole Leonine Gate as it is shown today. It should be emphasised that the symmetrical design of the two arches was intended to leave space to uncover and enjoy the ponte sanguinario.

The solution to enhance the bridge was to open it to view by keeping it underground with a single access via a small flight of stairs as it is today.

The planning instruments that had been put in place up until then had not addressed the general issue of the entire city; thus, in order to address the problem, architect Nicolosi was commissioned to draw up the new city plan in 1957. The 1950s were marked by building development that went even further than the hydrological and hydraulic aspects that were so important. Those years saw the construction of daring buildings such as the palace on the bed of the Tessino river and the widening of the bridge with reinforced concrete pillar structures that completely encompassed the old arched masonry bridge, the structure of which is still visible.

In 1985, with the variant signed by architect De Luca, the urban planning was based on more restrained themes. With the approval of the 2008 town plan, a brake was placed on uncontrolled expansion to the point of reducing some of the building areas, as in the latest variant approved by City Council Resolution No. 2 of 6/3/2020.

Mention should also be made of the approval of City Council Resolution No. 39 of 23/12/2019, a specific sector plan for mobility and traffic, from which the main guidelines of the present planning of the important northern junction and entrance to the city are dictated.