The Arches of Porta Nuova is a perfect example of antiquity blending with modernity in the graceful continuity of Milanese urban design. The double-arched gate was part of a defensive wall that was constructed around Milan after the defeat of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1162. At the end of the 19th century passages on each side of the gate were built for accommodating pedestrians entering or leaving Via Manzoni. Tram tracks were laid through the arches in the 20th century. The external façade contains steles from the Roman period, as well as a tabernacle enshrining the statues of the Madonna and Child with Saints. If you are looking at the arches from the cobbled Piazza Cavour, you will not even believe that the gate was constructed seven hundred years before any other building in the area, so organic is its location.