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ThePorta Fontinalis was a gate in theServian Wall inancient Rome. It was located on the northern slope of theCapitoline Hill, probably the northeast shoulder over theClivus Argentarius.[1] TheVia Salaria exited through it, as did theVia Flaminia originally, providing a direct link withPicene andGallic territory.[2] After theAurelian Walls were constructed toward the end of the 3rd century AD, the section of the Via Flaminia that ran between the Porta Fontinalis and the newPorta Flaminia was called theVia Lata ("Broadway").[3]
During a highly active period of building construction and religious dedications following theSecond Punic War, theaediles of 193 BC,Marcus Aemilius Lepidus andLucius Aemilius Paullus, built a monumentalportico linking the Porta Fontinalis to theAltar of Mars in theCampus Martius.[4] The portico, known as the Aemiliana, was a covered walkway for thecensors, who conducted the census at the Altar of Mars but had their office just inside the gate, within the walls.[5]
The extantTomb of Bibulus, dating to the first half of the 1st century BC, was located just outside the gate.[6] A funerarystele of the 2nd century AD preserves the name of a shoemaker, Gaius Julius Helius, who was located somewhere around the gate.[7] Most notoriously,Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the supposed poisoner of theEmperorTiberius' heir apparentGermanicus, had built structures above the gate to connect his private residences. The resultingdomus was criticized for dominating the architectural profile of the site. As part of the punitive measures against the associates, family, and memory of Piso in the wake of the conspiracy, thesenate ordered the demolition of these structures.[8]
The Porta Fontinalis got its name from nearby springs(fontes),[9] such as the spring still in evidence in the lowest level of theTullianum.[10] It may have had areligious connection to the god of springs and wells known asFons or Fontus who was celebrated at the Fontinalia.[11]
Ancient sources that mention the gate includeLivy andPaulus.[12]
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41°53′38″N12°29′03″E / 41.8940°N 12.4843°E /41.8940; 12.4843