Porta Viminale

About

The Porta Viminale (Porta Viminalis) was a gateway in the Servian Wall of ancient Rome, at the centre of the most exposed stretch of the wall between the Porta Collina and the Porta Esquilina. These three gates and the Porta Querquetulana were the oldest in the wall. Their construction dates back to a very ancient period, around 200 years before the construction of the Servian Wall in 378 BC.

It seems that the four original gates can be dated to the time of the enlargement of the city by King Servius Tullius, which added to the territory of the city, in addition to the hills already inserted between the initial seven hills, the Quirinal (Collis Quirinali), the Viminal, the Esquiline, and the Caelian (then called Querquetulanus, meaning covered with oak woods). The first defensive bulwark that connected the hills is obviously of the same period, the agger built along the whole stretch of about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) from Porta Collina to Esquiline, to try to defend the most vulnerable part of the city. According to scholars, a further clue to the antiquity of these gates is also provided by their name, which derives directly from the name of the hill to which they gave access, rather...