Ripatransone’s defensive walls and towers, almost certainly erected after 1205, the year the free Commune was founded, were left in a dilapidated state following the 1444 assault by Francesco Sforza’s troops. Thanks to the efforts of local resident Francesco Lunerti, Pope Eugene IV granted Ripatransone a thirty-year tax exemption to facilitate their reconstruction. Further aid was provided by Giosia d’Acquaviva, Duke of Atri, who shared both blood ties and a deep affection for the city.
Although the medieval walls underwent various modifications over the centuries, they suffered severe damage in 1966–67 due to the widening of the "Cuprense" provincial road. Nevertheless, Ripatransone’s fortifications remain among the finest and most complex in the Marche region. A nineteenth-century engraving estimates the wall's perimeter at 2,418 meters; its layout follows the site's terrain, which varies from one district to another.
As in the Middle Ages, the city is divided into four districts: Monte Antico, Capo di Monte, San Domenico (or Roflano), and Agello.
The defensive circuit is pierced by several gates; the finest is the Porta di Monte Antico. Facing south and square in plan, it features a pointed archway and a projecting upper section supported by corbels and machicolations, though these are absent on the rear side and the left side where it connects to the curtain wall. As a secondary line of defense (supplementing the main gate), the tower was equipped with a portcullis positioned toward the inner side of the passageway; only part of its guide track remains today. Just above the crown of the entrance arch, a coat of arms is embedded in the masonry, though it has become illegible. The crenellated parapet, though restored, retains its original Ghibelline merlons, some of which are fitted with musket loops; it rests on a system of corbels and machicolations designed to facilitate both vertical and direct defensive fire.
The Porta di Agello, which is also fortified, faces north. It once featured a projecting defensive structure equipped with machicolations, though this was limited to the sides exposed to potential attackers, that is, the sides facing outward from the walls.
The Porta di San Domenico displays a fine stone coat of arms set into the masonry above the archway; its upper section featured a light projecting structure which, while lacking machicolations, supported the crenellations.
Sources:https://www.visitripatransone.it/borgo/mura/
Photo: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mura_di_Ripatransone#/media/File:Ripatransone_Corte.jpg