The Porta San Paolo (English: Saint Paul Gate) is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of

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 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The Via Ostiense Museum (') is housed within the gatehouse. It is in the

Ostiense Ostiense is the 10th ''quartiere'' of Rome, identified by the initials Q. X. The toponym comes from the original name of the Porta San Paolo, a gate in the city walls of Rome, was , because it was located at the beginning of Via Ostiense. It no ...

quarter; just to the west is the Roman

Pyramid of Cestius The pyramid of Cestius (in Italian language, Italian, ''Piramide di Caio Cestio'' or ''Piramide Cestia'') is a Roman Era pyramid in Rome, Italy, near the Porta San Paolo and the Protestant Cemetery, Rome, Protestant Cemetery. It was built as a t ...

, an

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian-style

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

, and beyond that is the Protestant Cemetery.

History

The original name of the gate was , because it was located at the beginning of

via Ostiense The Via Ostiensis ( it, via Ostiense) was an important road in ancient Rome. It ran west from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventin ...

, the road that connected Rome and Ostia. Via Ostiense was an important arterial road, as evidenced by the fact that upon entering the gate of the same name, the road split, with one direction leading to the famous Emporium, the great market of Rome. The gatehouse is flanked by two cylindrical towers, and has two entrances, which had been covered by a second, single-opening gate, built in front of the first by 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 ...

(530s–540s). The structure is due to

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...

, in the 4th century, but the two towers were heightened by Honorius. Its original—

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

—name was ', since it opened on the way to Ostia. Later, it was renamed to the Italian ', because it was the exit of Rome that led to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. In 549, Rome was under siege; 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 ...

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

entered through this gate, because of the treason of the

Isauria Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surrou ...

n garrison. On 10 September 1943, two days after the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

between the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and Italy had been agreed, Italian military and civil forces tried to block

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

seizure of the city, with 570 casualties. File:Porta S. Paolo - Plate 011 - Giuseppe Vasi.jpg,

Giuseppe Vasi Giuseppe Vasi (27 August 1710 – 16 April 1782) was an Italian engraver and architect, best known for his ''vedute''. Biography He was born in Corleone, Sicily and later, around 1736, moved to Rome. After a period of intense visits and studies, ...

etching of Porta San Paolo and

, in the 18th century. File:Porta San Paolo (Rome).jpg, The gate has been separated from the Aurelian Walls, and looks like a castle, with the two towers and the double entrance. It is, therefore, sometimes called "Castelletto".

Notes

References

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External links

Further information
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century Museums in Rome History museums in Italy

San Paolo San Paolo (Italian for "Saint Paul") is a ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia The Province of Brescia ( it, provincia di Brescia; Brescian: ) is a Province in the Lombardy administrative region of northern Italy. It has a population of some ...

Rome R. XX Testaccio

History

See also

Notes

References

External links