Home

Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
What's New!

Detailed Sitemap

All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Porta S. Paolo (Book 1) (Map C4) (Day 5) (View C11) (Rione Ripa)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
The gate
Piramide di Caio Cestio
Fabbrica delle Polveri
The walls from Porta S. Paolo to the Tiber and the Protestant Cemetery

The Plate (No. 11)

Porta S. Paolo

The plate shows the external gate built by Belisarius in the VIth century. The gate built by Aurelianus in 275 AD is the internal one and has two passages. Thus the name of Trigemina was given to the gate because of the three passages (overall). The original name however was Porta Ostiensis as it led to ancient Ostia. The name S. Paolo refers to the fact that pilgrims went from here to St. Paul's Basilica (through a mile long little porch). The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Piramide di Caio Cestio; 2) Part of the church of SS. Salvatore. The small map shows also: 3) Porta S. Paolo; 4) Fabbrica delle Polveri.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The Gate today

The gate is now at the center of a very large square and traffic goes around the gate through large passages in the walls. The small church of SS. Salvatore was pulled down to enlarge Via Ostiense. The area is close to a railway station, to the underground and to the metropolitan railway to Ostia, thus it is now a perfect gathering point as on the day I took the photo here below (people gathered to support the national pension scheme; to learn more on how the Romans voice their views click here).

The Gate today - bis

The Gate

The Gate

The gate now hosts a small museum about the gate itself and Via Ostiense. A family lives in the small house where the customs point was. The locals refer to it as the Castle, because now that the gate is separated from the walls, it actually looks like a small castle.

The Pyramid

The pyramid

Romans liked Egypt so much that not only did they put obelisks everywhere in Rome, but even adopted the pyramidal form for their tombs (or at least those Romans who had great self-esteem and lots of money).
A large inscription on the side of the pyramid next to Porta S. Paolo tells us that it was built (some 30 years before Christ) as a tomb for Caius Cestius, son of Lucius, who had been praetor (an annually elected magistrate), tribune of the people and epulonum, a member of a group of seven priests who superintended the solemn sacrificial banquets. The pyramid was built in 330 days. In 275 AD Emperor Aurelianus took advantage of the pyramid to save some of the wall he erected and this saved the pyramid.
In the XVIIth century Pope Alexander VII extricated the deeply embedded monument and restored the marble coverage. The excavations led to the finding of two columns which once stood at the two corners of the pyramid not facing the street (on the corners on Via Ostiense there were two bronze statues -lost- of Caius Cestius). A narrow passage was dug to reach the funeral chamber, but it was found empty as it had already been looted. The chamber is decorated with grotesques.
Notwithstanding the inscription, in the Middle Ages the pyramid was thought to be the tomb of Remus, the twin brother of Romulus, the founder of Rome and it was called Meta Remi (another pyramid near what is today St Peter's square was called Meta Romuli).

Fabbrica delle Polveri

Fabbrica delle Polveri

Vasi had a special devotion for Pope Benedictus XIV Lambertini (he was not the only one, because Benedictus XIV from Bologna was very popular for his simple manners and understanding of everyday life issues). This explains why in his guide of Rome he shows almost all the initiatives taken by this Pope. Fabbrica delle Polveri means gunpowder factory. Benedictus XIV built near Porta S. Paolo (inside the walls) a little magazine which still exists. The low buildings are today unassuming houses (and some of them are later additions), but hidden in the courtyard is a coat of arms of the pope. The gunpowder factory is painted in one of the rooms of the Vatican Library, among other buildings and events related to Benedictus XIV.

The Walls from Porta S. Paolo to the Tiber

The Walls

A cattle-market was usually held outside Porta S. Paolo, thus the name of the street along the walls is Via del Foro Boario (bue=beef). This is one of the most picturesque stretches of the walls. The towers built by Nicholas V in the XVth century protect now the Protestant Cemetery of Rome where Lord Byron wanted buried the ashes of Percy Bisshe Shelley. Not far away the tomb of John Keats ("Here lies one whose name was writ in water").
Read Henry James's account of his visit to this Cemetery in 1873.
Read William Dean Howells' account of his visit to this Cemetery in 1908.
Visit the Cemetery.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa del ss. Salvatore
Fu eretta questa in memoria d'avere ivi s. Paolo chiesto a s. Plautilla madre di s. Flavia il velo, che portava in capo per bendarsi gli occhi quando gli fosse troncata la testa, promettendole di restituirlo, come poi effettuò dopo il suo martirio. Teodoro I. vi edificò la chiesa, e poi il Card. Gio. Torrecremata Spagnolo la rinnovò; e sta ora unita a quella di s. Sabina. Accanto si vede la
Piramide sepolcrale di Cajo Cestio
Questa fu eretta da Cajo Cestio Prefetto degli Epuloni per serbarci le sue ceneri, e per fare onore al suo nome. È formata di marmi quadrati larga nel suo nascere palmi 130. per ogni parte, e palmi 160. alta fino alla sua punta tutta liscia, e semplice, toltone le iscrizioni. Nell'interno evvi una stanza quadrata alta palmi 19., e 26. larga, ornata tutta di pitture. Aless. VII. fece ristaurarla, e scuoprire la sua base, alzandovi le due colonnette, che furono ivi trovate. Pochi passi dopo si vede la
Porta s. Paolo
Questa anticamente chiamavasi Porta Ostiense, come la via, perchè alla città di Ostia guidava; e prima che le mura della Città si distendessero fino alla divisata piramide, questa porta stava più addietro, e dicevasi Trigemina, dalla quale uscirono i suddetti santi Apostoli Pietro e Paolo. Ed è notabile, che da questa porta fino alla basilica di s. Paolo, abbenchè vi corra più di un miglio, vi era un portico sostenuto da colonne di marmo, e coperto di lamine di piombo, per guardare dalla pioggia, e da' cocenti raggi del Sole quei, che andavano a visitare quella basilica.
Fabbrica della Polvere
Era prima la polveriera presso la chiesa di s. Bonaventura sul monte Palatino; ma per ovviare ad ogni inconveniente, e pericolo, per ordine di Benedetto XIV. fu eretta in questo gran prato solitario, e lontano dall'abitato.

Next plate in Book 1: Interno della Porta S. Paolo - Esterno della Porta Portese antica
Next step in Day 5 itinerary: S. Sabba Abate
Next step in your tour of Rione Ripa: S. Sabba Abate