San Gallo Gate marks both the starting point and the return route of Calandrino’s futile search for a heliotrope stone. In the episode, its customs post also helps Bruno and Buffalmacco sustain the illusion that Calandrino has become invisible, turning an ordinary city entrance into part of their practical joke.

Setting and Route

On a Sunday morning, Calandrino leaves the city with Bruno and Buffalmacco by San Gallo Gate. They descend into the bed of a nearby stream and search downstream for the supposedly magic stone. Calandrino gathers black stones so eagerly that he fills his clothing with them, while his companions follow the plan they have devised to make him believe the stone has rendered him unseen.

The Gate and the Deception

After the search, the three return toward San Gallo Gate. Along the way, Bruno and Buffalmacco pretend that Calandrino has gone missing, then pelt him with stones while acting as though he is not there. At the gate, they put down the stones they have collected and pause at the customs post. The officers, forewarned by the companions, pretend not to see Calandrino and let him pass, laughing at the trick.

Narrative Significance

The gate is a threshold between the companions’ staged adventure outside the city and the consequences waiting at home. Because the officers help preserve the illusion, Calandrino reaches his house still convinced that the stone has made him invisible. Mistress Tessa sees him, however, and his belief collapses into anger: he blames her for breaking the spell and beats her. San Gallo Gate thus stands at the midpoint of a comic deception whose harm becomes unmistakably real after Calandrino crosses back into the city.