Porta Pia
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Porta Pia was one of the northern gates in the Aurelian Walls of
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. One of Pope Pius IV's civic improvements to the city, it is named after him. Situated at the end of a new street, the Via Pia, it was designed by
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
to replace the Porta Nomentana situated several hundred meters southwards, which was closed up at the same time. Construction began in 1561 and ended in 1565, after the artist's death. A 1561 bronze commemorative medal by shows an early plan by Michelangelo, very different from his final design. The façade on the outside of the city was completed in 1869 under the Neo-Classicist design by
Virginio Vespignani Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect. Biography Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti (architect), Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming o ...
.


History

A replacement was needed because of the new urban area, which could no longer provide access through the ancient Porta Nomentana for the
Via Nomentana The Via Nomentana was an ancient Roman road in Italy, leading North-East from Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio ...
. According to Vasari, Michelangelo presented three different designs to the Pope, which were beautiful but too extravagant, and the Pope (perhaps not very convinced by certain details of the drawings) chose the cheapest of the three. No trace survives of the three drawings (except for some sketches for certain details), nor is it certain that the work was actually carried out to the original plan. The present appearance underwent several changes: the designs depicted on a commemorative coin minted in 1561 and in an engraving of 1568 (the only documentation of this epoch) present the Porta Pia quite differently from how it appears today. Moreover, even forty years after its construction, the gate was shown on maps of Rome as almost like a ruin. In any case, the gate depicted on the coin appears to be the closest to the initial plan, although we cannot exclude the possibility that in the course of works some variations and reviews were made to the design and its details, remembering that the Pope chose the cheapest design. It was, however, Michelangelo's last architectural work – he died shortly before the work was completed. The work was carried out by Giacomo Del Duca, who also built Porta San Giovanni. Most experts consider that Michelangelo was concerned with creating picturesque and dramatic facades to fulfill their important symbolic function as an entrance to Rome. The gate is further emphasized by his positioning of the portal at the end of strada Pia, which resumed the route of the ancient " Alta Semita". It then continues on the current Via XX Settembre, to conclude with an imposing frontal prospect a long straight front beginning at the Quirinal. For a more scenic effect, the gate was set slightly behind the line of the walls, which was connected with two lateral oblique sections of wall, overhung by the wall-ends of the gate, and had only one arch (as it appears on the medal) with the reverse facade facing the city, whereas on the outside was only a simple fornix. A second arch was opened around 1575 to facilitate the transit of traffic, significantly increased by the closure of the nearby porta Nomentana, as stated on the inscription over the central arch: The prints and engravings up to 1577 depict a tower on the outside of a gate – it is doubtful whether this was lost from the design due to a collapse or due to a lessening desire for architectural motifs. The external facade was completed in 1869 to neoclassical plans by
Virginio Vespignani Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect. Biography Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti (architect), Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming o ...
, who seems to have been inspired by an engraving of 1568 to follow Michelangelo's original plans quite closely. Beginning in 1853 with a restoration due to damage from a lightning strike in 1851, the works also included the addition of new buildings and a courtyard. The new facade, in keeping with the city walls, houses two statues each in their own niche (in this case, of saints Agnes and
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
, according to the will of Pius IX), flanked by four columns.These statues were seriously damaged in the bombardment of 1870 and, after long restoration, were relocated in 1929. The Pope wanted a memorial to his escape from danger during the collapse of the audience chamber at the Sant'Agnese convent (near the gate) during his visit there on April 12, 1855. An inscription above the arch on the external side recorded this escape: It was through an artillery-opened breach in the wall a dozen metres to the west of the gate – known as the "Porta Pia breach" – that on September 20, 1870 '' Bersaglieri'' soldiers entered
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and completed the
unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...
. A marble and bronze Monument to the Porta Pia Breach is found at the spot where Italian artillery demolished the walls. Opposite the gate, on the external side, at the centre of the piazzale di Porta Pia, is the Monumento al Bersagliere, commissioned by Mussolini and erected in 1932 by Publio Morbiducci. The buildings between the two arches of the gate, once housing the customs office, are now the seat of the Historical Museum of the Bersaglieri, with the monumental tomb of Enrico Toti. Here, on September 11, 1926, the antifascist activist Gino Lucetti threw a bomb against the car transporting
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
, but without effect.


See also

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References


External links

* {{Michelangelo, architecture Buildings and structures completed in 1565 Pia Rome Q. V Nomentano 1565 establishments in the Papal States Michelangelo buildings