Except for St. Augustine‘s, the gates that open into the perimeter of the Venetian Walls are named after nearby churches that were demolished to make way for the imposing fortification.
The lion of St. Mark, symbol of the Venetian Republic, stood out on all the gates, and from each one departed an important route connecting with neighboring cities: from St. Alexander ‘s Gate the road connected Bergamo with Lecco and Como, from St. Lawrence ‘s Gate it headed for the countries beyond the Alps, from St. Augustine ‘s Gate it was possible to leave for Venice, and from St. James’s Gate it was possible to go to Milan.
It is precisely this last gate that turns out to be the most monumental and elegant: with its white marble covering, it was visible from the fairgrounds lawn (now the Piacentinian Center).