 Porta Latina today | |
   Porta Latina Shown within Rome | |
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| Location | Regio XIIPiscina Publica |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°52′35.0394″N12°30′8.4564″E / 41.876399833°N 12.502349000°E /41.876399833; 12.502349000 |
| Type | City gate |
| History | |
| Builder | Honorius |
| Founded | 5th century A.D. |
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ThePorta Latina (Latin -Latin Gate) is a single-arched gate in theAurelian Walls ofancient Rome.
It marked theRome end of theVia Latina and gives its name to the church ofSan Giovanni a Porta Latina. Most of the present structure dates toHonorius, including the arch'svoussoirs (though they are often wrongly attributed[1] to a 6th-century restoration byBelisarius, due to a cross and circle sculpted on the innerkeystone, and theChi Rho betweenΑ and Ω sculpted on the outer keystone). The gate retained its name throughout the Middle Ages. Also nearby are the oratory ofSan Giovanni in Oleo[2][3] and thepaganColumbarium of Pomponius Hylas.
The gate's single arch is built of irregular blocks oftravertine, with a row of five windows above on the outside, and a sixth in brick, at the south end, surmounted by stonebattlements. 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.
Media related toPorta Latina (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Porta Asinaria | Landmarks of Rome Porta Latina | Succeeded by Porta Maggiore |
This article contains text from Platner and Ashby'sA Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, a text now in the public domain.