The city gates were always closed at nightfall, and some of the streets were blocked by means of huge iron chains which stretched across the road, preventing the passage of horse or carts, from one house to another. One can still see the hooks and holes belonging to these somewhat barbaric defences in some of the more solid houses of Perugia; and in the neighbouring town of Spello the chains themselves have been left hanging to one of the houses. In 1276 we read that the law of closing the city gates was abolished, but a little later on it was again found necessary to barricade the town at nightfall, and during some of the fights between the nobles in 1400 and in 1500 we hear of the difficulties which one or the other party had to combat in the "chains across their path."
Strange scattered relics of this nest of mediæval man linger and come down to us even in the nineteenth century. Amongst these are the _porte del mortuccio_, or doors of the dead. All the best houses had these doors alongside of their house-doors, but they are bricked up now and quite disused, and might easily be ignored in passing through the streets. The _porta del mortuccio_ is tall, narrow, and pointed at the top; it is, indeed, just wide enough to pass a coffin through. It seems that in very early days, even so far back as the Etruscans, there was a superstition that through the door where Death had passed, Death must enter in again. By building a separate door, which was only used by the dead, the spirit of Death passed out with the corpse, the narrow door was closely locked behind it, and the safety of the living was secured, as far as the living can secure, from Death. Other charming details of the mediæval city are the house doors. They are built of travertine or _pietra serena_, and have little garlands of flowers and fruit bound with ribbons, and delicate friezes above them. Some of them have very beautiful Latin inscriptions, which show a strong religious sentiment. We quote a few of them here: _Janua coeli_ (door of heaven, over a church); _Pulchra janua ubi honesta domus_ (beautiful the door of the house which is honest); _A Deo cuncta--a domino omnia_ (all things from God); _Ora ut vivas et Deo vives_ (pray to live and thou shalt live to God); _Prius mori quam fædari_ (die rather than be disgraced); _In parvis quies_ (in small things peace); _Solicitudo mater divitiarum_ (carefulness is the mother of riches); _Ecce spes I.H.S. mea semper_ (Christ always my hope).