The Porta Trigemina was one of the main gates in the ancient 4th century
Servian Wall
The Servian Wall ( la, Murus Servii Tullii; it, Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to in height in places, wide ...
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 gate no longer exists, but it is frequently mentioned by ancient authors as standing between the north end of the
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome.
Location and boundaries
The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
and the
Tiber River
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...
, placing it near the southeastern end of the
Forum Boarium
The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the cattle ''forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome ...
. The Clivus Publicius descended from the Aventine to the Porta Trigemina.
[Frontinus Aq. 1.5]
It is presumed that its name (which means "triple uniting") refers to its triple gateway to accommodate heavy traffic that passed into the city from the
Via Ostiensis
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 ...
. It was known for the crowd of beggars that were found just outside the gate.
References
External links
Information on the Porta Trigemina from the LacusCurtius website.
{{coord, 41, 53, 12, N, 12, 28, 48, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title
Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century BC
Gates in the Servian Wall