Built in 5th century A.D. Type of structure City gate | Built by/for Honorius | |
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Location Regio XII Piscina Publica Address Via di Porta Latina, 00179 Roma, Italy Similar Porta San Sebastiano, San Giovanni a Porta Lati, Porta Asinaria, San Giovanni in Oleo, Porta Tiburtina | ||
Porta latina basilica san giovanni a porta latina e san giovanni in oleo
The Porta Latina (Latin - Latin Gate) is a single-arched gate in the Aurelian Walls of ancient Rome. It marked the Rome end of the Via Latina and gives its name to the church of San Giovanni a Porta Latina. Most of the present structure dates to Honorius, including the arch's voussoirs (though they are often wrongly attributed to a 6th-century restoration by Belisarius, due to a cross and circle sculpted on the inner keystone, and the Chi Rho between Α and Ω sculpted on the outer keystone). The gate retained its name throughout the Middle Ages. Also nearby are the oratory of San Giovanni in Oleo and the pagan Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas.
Contents
- Porta latina basilica san giovanni a porta latina e san giovanni in oleo
- Rehearsing palestrina in san giovanni a porta latina
- References
The gate's single arch is built of irregular blocks of travertine, with a row of five windows above on the outside, and a sixth in brick, at the south end, surmounted by stone battlements. The arch is flanked by two semi-circular towers of brick-faced concrete (almost entirely rebuilt, probably in the 6th century), which do not rise above the top of the central section. The north tower rests on masonry foundations that may have belonged to a tomb.