Capitals of the pillars of Porta Romana with “Saint Ambrose chasing the Arians from Milan”; “Friar Jacopo leading allied troops towards MIlan”; “Inhabitants of Milan returning to the city"

Porta Romana was structured as a double arched gate flanked by
two towers, as were the other main gates of the city of Milan. It survived until 1793, when it was
demolished and replaced with a building designed by Leopoldo Pollack. The
surviving reliefs of two of the three original pillars of the gate were
transferred to the Sforzesco Castle in 1895. Anselmo and Girardo were certainly
two of the sculptors that  realised these reliefs since their names
appear als on the inscriptions. The iconographic design of
these two artists was strongly propagandistic, aimed at establishing the
identity of Milan as an imperial city, ready to be reborn and to defeat its
enemies. The
depictions on the capitals are exemplary of this: on the central pylon, on the
right, is depicted Friar Jacopo leading allied troops from Cremona, Bergamo and
Brescia to Milan and, on the left, the inhabitants of Milan returning to the
city, preceded by two members of the clergy with crosses and banner. On the right pillar is a scene with
"St. Ambrose chasing the Arians from Milan", allusion to the
challenge launched by Milan (represented by St. Ambrose) against Barbarossa and
his allies (symbolised by the fleeing Arians). This is the first time that St.
Ambrose is shown with the stirrup strap and anticipates what in the fourteenth
century will become the prevailing iconography of the Saint.