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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in June 2009.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

Porta Chiusa (Book 1) (Rione Monti)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 Triumphal arch of Pope Sixtus V
 The Walls between Porta Chiusa and Porta S. Lorenzo (including Villa Gentili)

The Plate (No. 5)

Porta Chiusa


Porta Chiusa means closed gate because the gate was most likely closed immediately after the fall of the Roman Empire. Vasi calls it Querquetulana, (quercia=oak) which is the name of a gate of the most ancient (inner) walls of Rome. The gate is located at the junction between the walls of Castro Pretorio and the walls built by Emperor Aurelianus and it allowed the praetorian guard a direct exit from Rome. Two short roads started from the gate and reached Via Tiburtina and Via Nomentana (see a page on the historical roads of Rome).

Today

The view today
(left) Porta Chiusa in June 2009; (right) walls of Castro Pretorio near Porta Chiusa

Unfortunately today the gate is hidden by modern constructions and it can only be seen by walking into the parking lot of a large building in Via Monzambano (red dot in the small map here below).
The gate shows the characteristic features of the improvements to the fortifications of Rome which were made by Emperor Honorius. The section of the walls near Porta Chiusa was built making use of tufa blocks of a previous fortification.

Maps

The continuity of the walls was severely interrupted during the 1930s to facilitate communication with the newly built University campus and with new residential areas. In the modern maps shown above, the walls are marked with a thick black line: at one point near Porta Tiburtina (aka Porta S. Lorenzo) there seems to be a duplication; this is due to the arches of Acqua Felice, an aqueduct built by Pope Sixtus V (in the old map the aqueduct is marked by an arrow).

The Triumphal Arch of Pope Sixtus V

Triumphal arch
(left) Triumphal arch (the long white building is the eastern side of Stazione Termini, the central railway station of Rome); (right) inscription on its southern side

To celebrate the completion of the aqueduct a triumphal arch was erected and it was decorated with the heraldic symbols of the pope (see also Fontana Felice). The inscription on the southern side of the arch (shown above) celebrates the opening of two roads which led to S. Maria Maggiore and S. Maria degli Angeli: they also increased the value of Pope Sixtus' large property between the two churches.

The Walls between Porta Chiusa and Porta S. Lorenzo

The walls between Porta Chiusa and Porta S. Lorenzo
(left-above) Inscription celebrating a restoration by Pope Gregory XV; (left-below) coat of arms of Pope Julius II and marble fragments of ancient buildings; (right) a pensive garden on a tower of the walls

It is not easy to follow the former layout of the walls, which in some cases have become part of private properties; they restart to be continuous and free of addition or obstacles in the proximity of Porta S. Lorenzo.

Villa Gentilini
Villa Gentili: (left) section built above the walls; (right) section built above the arches of the aqueduct

In ca. 1740 a small villa was built by Cardinal Antonio Saverio Gentili above the walls and the arches of the aqueduct; it is still a private property; it is generally thought to have been designed by Filippo Raguzzini.

Next plate in Book 1: Mura dell'antico Castro Pretorio
Next step in your tour of Rione Monti: Piazza di Termini