The Porta Querquetulana or Querquetularia was a gateway in the

Servian Wall The Servian Wall ( la, Murus Servii Tullii; it, Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to in height in places, wide ...

, named after the sacred grove of the Querquetulanae adjacent to and just within it. The grove appears not to have still existed in the latter 1st century BC. The location of the gate is problematic. Lawrence Richardson located it at the edge of

Regio V Esquiliae The Regio V Esquiliae is the fifth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio V took its name from the Esquiline Hill. It contains parts of the Oppian Hill and Cispian Hill (two minor hills close to the city center) an ...

, with the

Clivus Scauri The Clivus Scauri was an ancient Roman road that originally branched off from the road that connected the Circus Maximus to the Colosseum along the depression between the Palatine and Caelian hills of Rome. It followed the east side of the latte ...

passing through it. Platner located the gate and the wood on or near the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill ov ...

, but between the

Porta Capena Porta Capena was a gate in the Servian Wall in Rome, Italy. The gate was located in the area of Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian Hill, Caelian, Palatine Hill, Palatine and Aventine Hill, Aventine hills meet. Probably its exact position ...

and the

Porta Caelimontana The Porta Caelimontana or Celimontana was a gate in the Servian Wall on the rise of the Caelian Hill (''Caelius Mons''). Use The Via Caelimontana ran from it; in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Roman tombs were discovered along its sout ...

. The Caelian Hill was supposed to have been named ''Querquetulanus'' before it was settled by Caelius Vibenna and named for him, and the location of the gate on the Caelian is based in part on the earlier name. In the early 21st century, photogrammetric data and 3D visualization have suggested that the grove of the Querquetulanae may have been incorporated into the

Gardens of Maecenas The Gardens of Maecenas, or ''Horti Maecenatis'', constituted the luxurious ancient Roman estate of Gaius Maecenas, an Augustan-era imperial advisor and patron of the arts. The property was among the first in Italy to emulate the style of Persia ...

. A nymphaeum from the time of Hadrian would have replaced the natural spring within it. In this view, the grove was located in Regio III, along the

Via Labicana The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east-southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have su ...

. A location on the

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' (Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

is also possible.

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

places the Porta Querquetulana between Jupiter Fagutalis and the

Viminal Hill The Viminal Hill ( ; la, Collis Vīminālis ; it, Viminale ) is the smallest of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. A finger-shape cusp pointing toward central Rome between the Quirinal Hill to the northwest and the Esquiline Hill to the southeast ...

, and thus within the Esquiline.Pliny, ''Natural History'' 16.37; Palmer, ''The Archaic Community of the Romans'', p. 119.

References

{{coord, 41.8883, N, 12.4986, E, source:wikidata, display=title Querquetulanae