The Porta di San Nicola overlooks the south-western side of the ancient city walls. The name of San Nicola is attributed to the ancient extra-moenia church of San Nicola del Pendino (vico I Mario Pagano), currently reduced to ruins and deconsecrated. Today it is identified as Porta di San Francesco due to its proximity to the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi built at the end of the 17th century. In reality this is considered the oldest gate in Martina Franca, in fact, in some historical documents it is defined as the Porta Maggiore, since it allowed access to the first settlement that developed in Martina in the Angevin period and which led, through via Mazzini, to the ancient Church of San Vito.
This gate has also undergone several renovations over the centuries, the most visible of which was the construction of an upper floor. In 1753, a private citizen, Pietro Bruni, obtained permission from the University (local parliament) to demolish and rebuild the medieval gate with the possibility of building a room in the upper part at his own expense. This structural intervention transformed what was originally a defensive lodge into a fully-fledged civilian room.
Inside the gate, in the upper corners, you can still admire the stone rings that served to hold the hinges of the entrance door and, in addition, votive shrines from the early twentieth century dedicated to the Madonna are positioned on the walls, clear evidence of the popular devotion of the time.
The ancient fair of San Nicola used to take place in the space in front of this gate. It was the first fair established in Martina and made official in 1368 by Philip II of Anjou. It took place on May 15th and lasted eight days, becoming the point of reference for merchants and buyers in the area.
A few meters from the gate stands the tower of the same name, Torre di San Nicola, 12 and a half meters high and 8 meters in diameter. It preserves all its architectural components intact (sloping wall, torus, shaft and corbels), even though it has now become a civilian residence.