Porta San Paolo, a gate in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls, is named after the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls), which lies about a mile away to the south. The original name of the gate was Porta Ostiensis, as it is located at the beginning of the ancient Via Ostiensis (today's Via Ostiense), the road that led to the port at Ostia, 15 kilometres away. Porta San Paolo is home to a small museum, the Museo della Via Ostiense, which illustrates the history of Via Ostiensis, once one of the most important thoroughfares in the ancient world. Next to Porta San Paolo stands the much older Pyramid of Gaius Cestius. Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private walking tours of Rome.
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September 2023
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