Porta Torre

The Porta Tower (also known as Torre di Porta Vittoria) is a major fortified tower located in the city of Como in Lombardy (Northern Italy). It is 40 meters high and was built in 1192 to defend the main entrance to the city. At the end of the war between Milan and Como in 1127, the Milanese, who won the conflict, built the ancient walls of the city, built during the Roman era. After the defeat, Como decided to ally himself with the German Emperor Frederick I (named Barbarossa) to fight the Milanese supremacy in Lombardy. In 1154 the emperor moved to Italy for the first time, and gave his consent to rebuild the defensive walls at Como (they are still visible around the city). A few years later, in 1192, the city's rulers decided to strengthen the fortifications towards the south, and to the newly built walls three large defensive towers were added.