The South Gate
This city gate is located at the very southern end of the former main town street, which starts at the North Gate, and passes at the foot of the hill San Giovanni.
This entrance even has a system of three gates, due to its strategic importance for the defense of the town.
Gurdić spring and the three gates system
The youngest is the external entrance, which consists of a walland two square massive pillars modeled after those built on Venetian fortifications in the 18th century.
On the upper part of the pillars, iron wheels were placed in the slits, which moved the chains installed for raising the drawbridge over the depths of Gurdić, ie for breaking any connection with the southern suburb of Šuranj.
“The middle gate, with its Romanesque semi-circular arch, is part of the old city wall, and it’s one of the oldest city gates from the Romanesque period.” (Martinović, J. Sto kotorskih dragulja)
Finally, the inner door in a high wall that leans on and continues the Gurdić bastion dates back in 1470, and it’s built for the purpose of a better defense of the entrance of the city. Stylistic features are similar to those of the gates constructed by the Venetian builder Gian Girolamo Sanmicheli, who fortified and decorated Venetian fortresses in the first half of the 16th century on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. (adapted from Martinović, J. Sto kotorskih dragulja)
