The Cassino Gate
A few steps forward we turn on the right and see the Cassino Gate, so called because in the past it was a guard post (called cassino) where, in turn, soldiers guarded the entrance to the fortress.
There were three gates but this is the only one still preserved.
If we go out of the gate, on the right side of the walls, it is still possible to see the defense and control loopholes; on the left the following inscription can be read: Sumptibus huius oppidi ac tributis aliorum subditorum locorum. It refers to the rebuilding of the castle walls, in 1599, with the contribution from the town and all the territories subdued.
From the front balcony, we can enjoy a wide view on the green landscape that surrounds Pietralunga.
According to specific building guidelines, all those who practiced the same artisanal activity could own a workshop in the same quarter. Therefore in ancient Pratalonga there was: the quarter of blacksmiths, butchers and bakers in Via del Forno, the quarter of carpenters, in Via S. Agostino, the quarter of dyers, leather goods artisans and shoemakers in Via S. Agostino and in Via dell’Ospedale, the quarter of weavers, merchants and bankers in Via della Banca. Many of the workshop signs can still be seen in the different streets.