According to the most reliable reconstruction, up to the middle of the fourteenth century, the town planning of Atina was divided into three poles: Santo Stefano (the hill close to the Convent of San Francesco, or “Torretta”), the Colle della Torre (the current historical center) and Santa Maria (the current cemetery), of which the first two are fortified.
On the morning of 9 September 1349, Atina was razed to the ground by a terrible earthquake and was rebuilt where the historic center currently stands. The feudal lord of the time was Rostaino Cantelmo, who built the feudal palace defended by 20 towers and a moat. It was accessed through three doors: Santa Maria, Fontana and San Rocco. Today as in the past, this last gate is the main entrance to the ancient city.
The original structure was a pointed arch. Like Porta Santa Maria and the entrance to Palazzo Cantelmo, the Porta dell’Assunta was also built according to the French aesthetic standards imported by the Cantelmo. In 1760 it was demolished and rebuilt with a wider round arch. In 1775 the Bolognese artist Giovan Battista Maini (who was working for the abbey of Monte Cassino) embellished it by sculpting a blessing Christ on the top that supports the world. Following the bombings of September 1943, the gate was severely damaged. It was rebuilt in 1948, wider than 50cm: the necessary to facilitate the entry of vehicles engaged in the reconstruction of the historic center.
Close to the gate was the church of San Carlo. According to tradition, it was built between 626 and 647 by the bishop Gaudenzio and dedicated to Santo Stefano. In the privilege of Innocent III of 1208 it is mentioned as the church of Santa Croce della Città. In 1274 it was restored by the interest of the Latin Cicchillo. At the beginning of the 17th century, under the provost of Giovanni Bernardino Mancino, it was refurbished by Nicola Simonelli who founded the Confraternity of San Carlo.
Outside the door, a Roman epigraph (C.I.L. 5116) is worthy of attention, which recalls:
“Gneo Valerio Filodamo, freedman of Gneo, Gneo Valerio Sorano, son of Gneo. The monument measures 16 feet on the forehead, feet deep … “
In 1887 Cesare Pascarella described it “completely modernized and painted in red and white stripes; but inside it preserves the medieval construction intact. Everywhere, in the streets and alleys, on the houses blackened by the centuries or very white due to the recent plastering, here and there you can see the remains of arcades, paired windows, columns, capitals and fragments of Romanesque sculptures “.