Land Gate, Zadar (must see)

In 1543 the small and narrow Fosa harbor was guarded by the newly built Gate of Stone (Kopnena Vrata), the "Land Gate." This was the main entrance to the port of Zadar, a part of the dominant Venetian Empire at the time. The imposing gate was designed and built by the famed Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli.

A military architect, Sanmicheli designed fortifications in a Mannerist style. Inspired by Greek architecture, he favored the use of Doric columns without bases in his creations. The Land Gate is in the form of a triumphal arch with three passages. The central passage is for wheeled traffic. Two side openings are for pedestrians.

Sectioned Doric columns flank the central passage. The arch keystone has a bas-relief of Saint Chrysogonus, the patron saint of Zadar, on horseback. Above the relief of the Saint, in a niche wide as the archway itself, is the winged Lion of Venice holding a stone plaque with a blessing in Latin addressed to Saint Mark.