The Porta Fontinalis was a gate in the

Servian Wall The Servian Wall (; ) is 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 at its base, long, and is believed to hav ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. It was located on the northern slope of the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

, probably the northeast shoulder over the Clivus Argentarius. The

Via Salaria The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' ( Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed throu ...

exited through it, as did the

Via Flaminia The Via Flaminia () was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had f ...

originally, providing a direct link with Picene and Gallic territory. After the

Aurelian Walls The Aurelian Walls () are a line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC. The walls enclosed all the ...

were constructed toward the end of the 3rd century AD, the section of the Via Flaminia that ran between the Porta Fontinalis and the new

Porta Flaminia The Porta del Popolo, or Porta Flaminia, is a city gate of the Aurelian Walls of Rome that marks the border between Piazza del Popolo and Piazzale Flaminio. History The previous name was ''Porta Flaminia'', because the consular Via Flaminia p ...

was called the Via Lata ("Broadway").

History

During a highly active period of building construction and religious dedications following the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, the

aedile Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...

s of 193 BC, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Aemilius Paullus, built a monumental

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

linking the Porta Fontinalis to the Altar of Mars in the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for 'Field of Mars'; Italian: ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...

. The portico, known as the Aemiliana, was a covered walkway for the censors, who conducted the census at the Altar of Mars but had their office just inside the gate, within the walls. The extant Tomb of Bibulus, dating to the first half of the 1st century BC, was located just outside the gate. A funerary

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

of the 2nd century AD preserves the name of a shoemaker, Gaius Julius Helius, who was located somewhere around the gate. Most notoriously, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the supposed poisoner of the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Tiberius' heir apparent

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

, had built structures above the gate to connect his private residences. The resulting ''

domus In ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (: ''domūs'', genitive: ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

'' 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, the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

ordered the demolition of these structures. The Porta Fontinalis got its name from nearby springs ''(fontes),'' such as the spring still in evidence in the lowest level of the

Tullianum The Mamertine Prison (), in antiquity the Tullianum, was a prison (''carcer'') with a dungeon (''oubliette'') located in the Comitium in ancient Rome. It is said to have been built in the 7th century BC and was situated on the northeastern slope ...

. It may have had a religious connection to the god of springs and wells known as Fons or Fontus who was celebrated at the Fontinalia. Ancient sources that mention the gate include

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

and Paulus.Livy 35.10.11–12; Paulus '' ex Festo'' 75 in the edition of Lindsay; Richardson, ''Topographical Dictionary'', p. 303.

References

{{Coord, 41.8940, N, 12.4843, E, source:wikidata, display=title Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Gates in the Servian Wall