Porta Tiburtina or Porta San Lorenzo is a gate in the 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 ...

, through which the

Via Tiburtina Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur) and then, with the via Valeria, on to Pescara (Latin, Aternum). Historical road It was probably built by the Roman censor Marcus Valerius Maxi ...

exits the city.

History

The gate originally was an arch, built under

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

, in the point in which three aqueducts (

Aqua Marcia The Aqua Marcia ( it, Acqua Marcia) is one of the longest of the eleven aqueducts that supplied the city of Rome. The aqueduct was built between 144–140 BC, during the Roman Republic. The still-functioning Acqua Felice from 1586 runs on long ...

, Aqua Julia and

Aqua Tepula The Aqua Tepula is an ancient Roman aqueduct completed in 125 BC by censors Gnaeus Servilius Caepio, who had served as consul in 141 BC, and Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla. The water from the Aqua Tepula was, as implied in the nam ...

) passed over the Via Tiburtina. The arch was restored by Emperors

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

and

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

. The arch of Augustus was incorporated in the Aurelian Walls by Emperor

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...

. At the time of Honorius' restoration, in the 5th century, a second, external opening was built, with five small openings that enlightened the room where the gate was operated.Quercioli, pp. 201-202. With time, the gate changed its name into Porta San Lorenzo, because of the presence of the close by

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

San Lorenzo fuori le Mura The Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo fuori le mura (Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls) is a Roman Catholic Minor papal basilica and parish church, located in Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome ...

. Common people, however, called it "Capo de bove" or "Porta Taurina", since the arch of Augustus was decorated with bull skulls. The gate is the witness of the

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

obtained in the evening of 20 November 1347 by the Roman popular leader

Cola di Rienzo Nicola Gabrini (1313 8 October 1354), commonly known as Cola di Rienzo () or Rienzi, was an Italian politician and leader, who styled himself as the "tribune of the Roman people". Having advocated for the abolition of temporal papal power a ...

against the city's barons forces, in which the latter's leader

Stefano Colonna Stefano Colonna was the name of several members of the Italian family of Colonna. The most important include: *Stefano Colonna the Elder (1265 – c. 1348) was son of Giovanni Colonna and one of the most important political figures in Rome i ...

was killed. In 1869 or 1870,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

ordered the removal of much of the surviving stonework of the Porta Tiburtina to build a monumental column to the

Ecumenical Council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...

, which was never completed due to the

Capture of Rome The Capture of Rome ( it, Presa di Roma) on 20 September 1870 was the final event of the unification of Italy (''Risorgimento''), marking both the final defeat of the Papal States under Pope Pius IX and the unification of the Italian Peninsula ...

. Next to the gate, there is the church of

Santa Bibiana Santa Bibiana is a small Baroque style, Roman Catholic church in Rome devoted to Saint Bibiana. The church façade was designed and built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who also produced a sculpture of the saint holding the palm leaf of martyrs. Hist ...

Gate

The arch of Augustus bears three inscriptions. On the top, on the Aqua Julia, a 5 BC inscription that reads: :CAESAR DIVI IULI F(ilius) AUGUSTUS PONTIFEX MAXIMUS CO(n)S(ul) XII TRIBUNIC(ia) POTESTAT(e) XIX IMP(erator) XIIII RIVOS AQUARUM OMNIUM REFECIT :Imperator

Caesar Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

, son of the divine

Julius The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

, '' pontifex maximus'',

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

for the twelfth time,

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

for the nineteenth time, ''

imperator The Latin word ''imperator'' derives from the stem of the verb la, imperare, label=none, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part o ...

'' for the thirteenth time, restored the channels of all the aqueducts.''Roma Segreta'' site. In the middle, the ''

'' bears a legend dating to Emperor

restoration, in 212: :CAES(ar) M(arcus) AURELLIUS ANTONINUS PIUS FELIX AUG(ustus) PARTH(icus) MAXIM(us) BRIT(annicus) MAXIMUS PONTIFEX MAXIMUS AQUAM MARCIAM VARIIS KASIBUS IMPEDITAM purgato fonte excisis et perforatis montibus restituta forma adquisito etiam fonte novo Antoniniano in sacram urbem suam perducendam curavit :Imperator Caesar

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

Pius Felix Augustus, Parthicus Maximus, Britannicus Maximus, brought in his city the Aqua Marcia obstructed by several impediments, after cleaning the source, cutting and punching mountains, restoring the path, and having provided the new source Antoniniana.''Roma Segreta'' site. This new source was used to feed a new branch of the Aqua Marcia, which was to provide water for the new

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...

. On the lower channel of

there is an inscription about the restoration by Emperor

in 79: :TITUS CAESAR DIVI F(ilius) VESPASIANUS AUG(ustus) PONTIF(ex) MAX(imus) TRIBUNICIAE POTESTAT(is) IX IMPerator) XV CENS(or) CO(n)S(ul) VII DESIG(natus) IIX P(ater) P(atriae) RIVOM AQUAE MARCIAE VETUSTATE DILAPSUM REFECIT ET AQUAM QUAE IN USU ESSE DESIERAT REDUXIT :Imperator Titus Caesar, son of the divine

Vespasianus Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

Augustus, pontifex maximus,

for the ninth time,

for the fifteenth time, censor,

for the seventh time, (consul) chosen for the eighth time,

pater patriae ''Pater Patriae'' (plural ''Patres Patriae''), also seen as ''Parens Patriae'', is a Latin honorific meaning "Father of the Country", or more literally, "Father of the Fatherland". It is also used of U.S. President George Washington, the Swed ...

, restored the channels of the Aqua Marcia destroyed by the time, and restored back the water that was no longer used.

Nearby notable roads

linking Porta Tiburtina with

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...

cemetery. *

Via Volsci Via dei Volsci is a street in Rome located in the Quartiere San Lorenzo. It is to the south and runs parallel to Via Tiburtina. It also links Porta Tiburtina with the Campo Verano cemetery. Left Wing history The street has long had a reputation fo ...

, running parallel to Via Tiburtina

Notes

References

* Quercioli, Mauro, ''Le mura e le porte di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Roma, 2005
"Porta Tiburtina", Roma Segreta

External links

in Platner & Ashby's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome at

LacusCurtius LacusCurtius is a website specializing in ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. It went online on August 26, 1997; in July 2021 it had "3707 webpages, 765 photos, 772 drawings & engravings, 120 plans, 139 maps." T ...