The Serrans Gate or Serranos Gate is one of the twelve gates that formed part of the ancient city wall, the Christian Wall (Muralla cristiana), of the city of Valencia, Spain. It was built in Valencian Gothic style at the end of the 14th century (between 1392 and 1398). Its name is probably due to its location in the northwest of the old city centre, making it the entry point for the royal road (camí ral) connecting Valencia with the comarca or district of Els Serrans (along the road going northwest towards the mountains around Teruel and eventually leading to Saragossa) as well as the entry point for the royal road to Barcelona, or because the majority of settlers near there in the time of James I of Aragon were from the area around Teruel, whose inhabitants were often called serrans (mountain people) by the Valencians. Alternatively, the gate may also have been named after an important family, the Serrans, who lived in a street with the same name.
Serrans Gate is an important landmark and one of the best preserved monuments of Valencia. The walls consist of very solid stone, as their main purpose was fortification. However, they are covered with a cladding of limestone, mainly from Alginet, a town near Valencia, in order to give the building a more luxurious, distinguished appearance.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.