Porta Salaria was 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

in the 3rd century, including pre-existing constructions in order to hasten the works. Under it passed the

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 ...

nova, which joined the Via Salaria vetus (Old Via Salaria) outside the city. The gate had a single passage and was flanked by two semi-circular towers. The

Horti Sallustiani The Gardens of Sallust ( la, Horti Sallustiani) was an ancient Roman estate including a landscaped pleasure garden developed by the historian Sallust in the 1st century BC. It occupied a large area in the northeastern sector of Rome, in what would ...

were located in the city just inside the gate. During the restoration by emperor Honorius in the early 5th century, the arch was strengthened in ''

opus mixtum Example of ''opus mixtum'' in the substruction of France.html"_;"title="Brest_Castle,_France">Brest_Castle,_France_ ''Opus_mixtum''_(Latin:_"mixed_work"),_or_''opus_vagecum''_and_''opus_compositum'',_was_an_Roman_architecture.html" "title="ran ...

'', and over it three large windows were opened. The

Goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

king

Alaric I Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades ...

entered Rome from this gate to begin the famous Sack of Rome. In 537, the area between Porta Salaria and

Castro Pretorio Castro Pretorio is the 18th ''rione'' of Rome (Italy), identified by the initials R. XVIII, and it is located within the Municipio I. The ''rione'' takes its name by the ruins of the '' Castrum Praetorium'', the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, ...

was the location of the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

by the Goth king

Witigis Vitiges or Vitigis or Witiges (died 542) was king of Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540. He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War of 535–554, as Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and w ...

against the troops of Belisarius. During the Middle Ages, unlike other gates of the city, Porta Salaria did not receive a Christian name. On September 20, 1870, the part of the Aurelian Walls between Porta Salaria and

Porta Pia Porta Pia is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. One of Pope Pius IV's civic improvements to the city, it is named after him. Situated at the end of a new street, the Via Pia, it was designed by Michelangelo in replacement for the Port ...

witnessed the end of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

(see

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 ...

). The gate was damaged by the artillery fire of the Italian troops, and the following year it was demolished. In 1873, it was rebuilt under the design of the architect

Virginio Vespignani Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect. Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming one of Roman neoclassical's main figur ...

. However, in 1921, it was again decided to demolish the gate to open the area to road traffic. The area is now occupied by Piazza Fiume ("Fiume square").

Remains

The 1921 demolition uncovered several funerary monuments of the sepulchres that flanked the old Via Salaria and that had been re-used to erect the towers. A copy of the sepulchre of Quintus Sulpicius Maximus, an 11-year-old boy, is now visible in Piazza Fiume (the original is the

Musei Capitolini The Capitoline Museums (Italian: ''Musei Capitolini'') are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazz ...

). On right of the walls near the square are remains of 1st-century BC tombs.

References

* *{{cite book, last=Quercioli, first=Mauro, title=Le mura e le porte di Roma, publisher=Newton Compton, year=2005

Salaria ''Salaria'' is a genus of fish in the family Blenniidae. It now contains marine species which are found around the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Freshwater species were reallocated to '' Salariopsis'' in 2022. One species, ...

Rome R. XVII Sallustiano Demolished buildings and structures in Rome Buildings and structures demolished in 1921 Buildings and structures demolished in 1873

History

Remains

See also

References