Porta Pinciana is a
gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
of the
Aurelian Walls in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
The name derives from the ''
gens
In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same Roman naming conventions#Nomen, nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (p ...
'' Pincia, who owned the eponymous hill (
Pincian Hill
The Pincian Hill (; it, Pincio ; la, Mons Pincius) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of th ...
). In ancient times it was also called ''Porta Turata'' ("Plugged Gate", for it was partially closed) and ''Porta Salaria vetus'', as the oldest
Via Salaria
The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy.
It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' (Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed throug ...
passed under it (the ''Via Salaria nova'' passed under the
Porta Salaria
Porta Salaria was a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. Constructed between 271 AD and 275 AD, it was finally demolished in 1921.
History
Porta Salaria was part of the Aurelian Walls built by emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century, inclu ...
).
The gate was built under the emperor
Honorius in the early 5th century.
During the Middle Ages a legend told that the Byzantine general
Belisarius
Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terri ...
, who here had defended Rome against the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
in the
siege of 537–538, was refused admission by the Romans.
The two side passages are a modern addition. The gate remained closed until the early 20th century.
See also
*
*
List of ancient monuments in Rome
This is a list of ancient monuments from Republican and Imperial periods in the city of Rome, Italy.
Amphitheaters
* Amphitheater of Caligula
* Amphitheatrum Castrense
* Amphitheater of Nero
* Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus
* Colosseum
Bath ...
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*
{{Platner
Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century
Pinciana
Rome R. XVI Ludovisi
Rome Q. III Pinciano