4. 14th Century Portal

The imposing portal of the Church of San Francesco opens along the southern side of the building, an unusual choice but one that has a precise symbolic meaning. The entrance to the nave looks towards the town and the Cathedral, creating an immediate relationship with the political and spiritual centre of the city. The wall on which the portal opens measures approximately 25 metres and is embellished with carved decorations, mouldings, capitals and a solar swastika - a symbolic motif that in Christianity represents eternity. The portal, datable to around the 1430s and possibly made of reused material, consists of two wooden wings inserted inside a Gothic pointed arch structure with three decorative stone cornices, one on top of the other. The three arches are supported by pairs of side columns, leaning against the walls. The outer ones end with capitals decorated with curved leaves, known as crochets, while the inner ones connect directly to the decorated band, adorned with an orderly and continuous series of sculpted palmettes, arranged in two overlapping rows, creating a very refined decorative rhythm. The meticulously sculpted decorations show abstract geometric motifs, intertwining and plant elements, clearly influenced by the multicultural tradition of the Calabrian Norman period, creating a unique synthesis of Romanesque architecture, Islamic style and Byzantine traditions.