Porta Asinaria

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Porta Asinaria
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External facade of the Porta Asinaria.
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Porta Asinaria
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Porta Asinaria
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Location Rome
Coordinates 41°53′8.4768″N12°30′31.2552″E / 41.885688000°N 12.508682000°E / 41.885688000; 12.508682000
History
Founded271–275 AD
Facade from within the city walls Porta Asinaria.jpg
Facade from within the city walls

The Porta Asinaria is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome. [1] Dominated by two protruding tower blocks and associated guard rooms, it was built between 271 and 275 AD, at the same time as the Wall itself. It was not rebuilt or fortified in the time of Honorius and not restored by Theoderic as most of the other gates. [2]

Contents

It is through this gate that East Roman troops under General Belisarius entered the city in 536, reclaiming the city for the Byzantine Empire from the Ostrogoths.

By the 16th century it had become overwhelmed by traffic. A new breach in the walls was made nearby to create the Porta San Giovanni. At this point, the Porta Asinaria was closed to traffic.

See also

Notes

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References

Further reading

Preceded by
Porta Ardeatina
Landmarks of Rome
Porta Asinaria
Succeeded by
Porta Latina

This article contains text from Platner and Ashby's A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, a text now in the public domain.