Porta Maggiore

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Map

Porta Maggiore

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Porta Prenestina, better known as Porta Maggiore, is a gate in the Aurelian Walls. 

Porta Maggiore was originally built in 52 CE by the emperor Claudius (r. 41-54), not as a gate but to provide support for two aqueducts, the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus, as they crossed over two roads, the Via Prenestina and the Via Casalina. The channels of the two aqueducts lie one on top of the other.  

The two arches were later incorporated in the third-century Aurelian Walls, thus turning them into a proper entrance to the city.

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