From Porta Maggiore to Porta Asinaria
Route: THE WALLS OF ROME. PROSPECTS OF THE ETERNAL CITY
You are along the route: AQUEDUCTS AND FOUNTAINS. THE MARVEL OF WATER
Piazzale Labicano
Always visible.
The gateway is on the south-eastern slopes of the Esquiline, an area crossed since ancient times by via Labicana (currently Casilina) and via Prenestina and by numerous aqueducts.
When the Emperors Caligula and Claudius built the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus aqueducts between 38 and 52 AD, a large twin-arch gateway was built in square travertine blocks. On the upper part, depictions of the aqueducts can be seen with the inscriptions commemorating the construction of the gateway by Claudius and the subsequent restorations by Vespasian and Titus (71 and 81 AD). When the Aurelian walls were built, the gateway was incorporated into the new city walls and the two arches were converted into gates to the city, which were taken down at the time of Pope Gregory XVI in 1838. The remains of the late-Republican tomb of Eurysaces the Baker can still be seen outside the walls, and is a reproduction of parts of an ancient furnace decorated with scenes depicting the making and selling of bread.Picture by permission from Roma Capitale-Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali
Further reproduction prohibited
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