However, even if you can’t get a good photo, you can see the ancient majesty of this 1st century BC arch. The enemy wasn’t just from the borders of Rome. It is the better side for photographs. However 12 of them still remain in very good condition. In the 10th century the old gate was renamed Porta San Valentino due to the close proximity to the Catacombs of Saint Valentine about 20 minutes north on the via Flaminia. There were once 15 gates to the Servian Wall. It’s been estimated between 6,000 and 12,000 citizens of Rome were killed. Although he wasn’t a soldier, he spent most of his time as Emperor fighting invasions from all sides of the Empire. The root of this unorthodox practice was due to the imminent barbarian threat coupled with the wavering strength of the military as a whole due to being subject to years of bloody civil war, famine and the Plague of Cyprian. The walls were constructed in brick-faced concrete, 3.5 m (11 ft) thick and 8 m (26 ft) high, with a square tower every 100 Roman feet (29.6 m (97 ft)). It was his 5 years of wars (270-275) that inspired him to build a bigger and better fortification to the city. Porta San Giovanni commands some of the worst auto traffic in the city. Instead, they carried out hit-and-run raids against ill-defended targets. Recently the remains of what many consider to be the Campus Sceleratus (the evil fields) were dug along the via 20 settembre, near the Porta Pia. The excavation opened in 2002. It’s an easy 30 minute walk from the Porta San Sebastiano to the Porta San Paolo along the Viale di Porta Ardeantina. If you visit the Servian Gate now known as the Arco di Dolabella, it’s a 5 minute walk down the via Della Navicella. There are also a few remains at the intersection of via Antonio Salandra and via Giosuè Carducci near Piazza Barberini, in Piazza Manfredo Fanti near the Termini station and in the McDonald’s Fast Food emporium in the lower floor of Termini station. Both Guiscard and Pope Gregory died a year later, 2 months apart. The brick section over the arch was added later in order to accommodate an aqueduct built to provide water to Nero’s Golden Palace. One last note about the Porta Tiburtina. A couple of hours into the madness, the road takes a split and diverts to the actual flea market, filled with antiques (real and fake), memorabilia, jewelry, old records and tons of things you just have to buy even though you know they’ll end up in a junk drawer when you get home. [1] The wall cut through populated areas: in reality the city at the time embraced 2,400 hectares or 6,000 acres. The inner façade was designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini for Pope Alexander VII (Chigi) for the arrival of Queen Christina of Sweden in 1655. The walls were doubled in height to 52’ tall in the 4th early 5th centuries but by the early 5th century, the barbarians were at the gates. In May 1084, the Norman, Robert Guiscard (known as the Weasel) came through the Asinaria Gate with 36,000 Norman troops and defeated Henry IV, rescuing Pope Gregory VII and sacking the city, just because he could. Honorius was in Ravenna at the time Alaric entered the Porta Salaria. Over the years the arch was restored by Emperor Vespasian and then his son, Emperor Titus. During the Middle Ages Porta Aurelia was renamed San Pancrazio when the catacomb of the Christian martyr, Saint Pancras was discovered nearby. of the XVIIth century Pope Urban VIII built walls on Monte Gianicolo and redesigned the walls of Aurelian in Trastevere.The image shown in the background of this page is based on a photo of the walls between Porta S. Sebastiano and Porta S. Paolo. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Snail vendors set up their booth in front of the Basilica of San Giovanni. Emperor Justinian was always jealous of the Belisarius fame and according to the story, Justinian had Belisarius blinded and sent him to the Pincian Gate as a beggar for the remaining years of his life. The pursuing warlord, Brennus and his army of Gallic Celts raped, pillaged and burned the city for days. Continue north and cross over the Ponte Regina Margherita, the wife of King Umberto I, the 2nd King of Unified Italy and the namesake of the most famous pizza in the world, the Pizza Margherita. Around 262, the gate was dedicated as a triumphal Arch of Gallienus, in honor of the Emperor Gallienus and his wife, Cornelia Salonina. Some have even witnessed the ghostly shape of Salomé dancing by the gate. The original Porta Aurelia gate is long gone, so is the original location. However, the need for updated defences became acute during the crisis of the Third Century, when barbarian tribes flooded through the Germanic frontier and the Roman Army struggled to stop them. It was a traditional Roman Tribute that included 170 chained Turkish prisoners in tow. They are slightly offset because each arch had a different purpose depending on which side of the arch you entered. In the 17th, Pope Urban VIII had a new gate built. The top channel for the Aqua Julia is dedicated to Augustus. When he returned home, Pope Gregory XIII (Boncompagni), the namesake of the Gregorian Calendar, gave Colonna the title of Captain General of the Papal armed guards.