Aurelian Walls
Encyclopedia : A : AU : AUR : Aurelian Walls
The Aurelian Walls were built between 270 and 273, by Roman Emperor Aurelian. The 12.5 mile long wall was intended to defend the city of Rome, capital of the Roman Empire, from barbarian attacks. At the time, the city had been grown well beyond the old Servian Wall, built during the late 4th century BC, and had been relatively safe during the centuries of Roman expansion and consolidation. However, by the 3rd century, the menace of barbarian tribes flooding through the German frontier could not be easily stopped by the Roman Army, with the empire in a heavy crisis.
Construction of the wall
In order to quickly build the Wall, and for economical and military reasons, many buildings were included in the Wall. Among them were the Amphitheatrum Castrense and the Pyramid of Cestius. A section of an aqueduct, the Aqua Claudia, is also built into the wall near the Porta Maggiore.While the Aurelian Wall seems not to have been built along the Tiber River, which forms a natural barrier, a salient enclosed part of the Transtiberim (Trastevere) across the river.
Later history of the wall
In 401, under Honorius, the walls and the gates were improved. At this time, the Tomb of Hadrian across the Tiber was incorporated as a fortress in the city defenses. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the popes added additional defenses to the walls to counter firearms.
The Aurelian Wall continued as a significant military defense for the city of Rome until September 20 1870, when the Bersaglieri of the Kingdom of Italy breached the wall near the Porta Pia.
Due to the need to maintain its defensive ability through the centuries, the Aurelian Wall remains remarkably well preserved today, especially in its southern extent. The [Museo delle Mura] near the Porta San Sebastiano offers information on its construction and how the defenses operated.
The later Protestant Cemetery is near the walls.
Gates in the walls
List of gates (porte), from the northernmost and clockwise:
- Porta del Popolo – here begins via Flaminia
- Porta Pinciana
- Porta Salaria – here begins via Salaria
- Porta Pia – here begins the new via Nomentana
- Porta Nomentana – here began the old via Nomentana
- Porta Praetoriana – old entrance to Castrum Praetorium, the camp of the Praetorian Guard
- Porta Tiburtina – here begins via Tiburtina
- Porta Maggiore – here three aqueducts meet, and via Praenestina begins
- Porta San Giovanni – near Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
- Porta Asinaria – here begins the old via Tuscolana
- Porta Metronia
- Porta Latina – here begins via Latina
- Porta San Sebastiano – here begins Appian Way
- Porta Ardeatina
- Porta San Paolo – next to the Pyramid of Cestius, leading to Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura, here via Ostiense begins
- Porta Portuensis
- Porta Aurelia Pancraziana
- Porta Septimiana
- Porta Aurelia-Sancti Petri
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.