This is Porta Asinaria, one of the access gates of the magnificent Aurelian Walls, the protective wall that defences Rome since the end of the third century a.D., when the emperor Aurelian, worried about the continuous raids of barbarian populations within the imperial borders , decided to erect these walls. 16 of the original 19 kilometers are still preserved today, which make the city even more special because its original walls are, basically, still clearly visible and therefore in need of continuous attention. So something like that is also an active witness of the history of Rome, something that a local tour guide like me loves very much.

But the Aurelian Walls, with their peculiar function, more than anything else can be considered living evidence of the most difficult periods for Rome, when enemies appeared at their gates in order to sack or conquere the Eternal City (for several reasons). The Aurelian Walls were the last, great obstacle that stood before them. Among the various gates and portals that served as the entrance to the city, Porta Asinaria is one of the most particular ones, due to its historical evolution. Since the construction of the walls, with thousands of workers (including legionaries and soldiers exempted from military activities) forced to work to erect it, numerous openings were made. From large entrances which were particularly fortified and controlled to simple openings. This difference was mainly due to the position of the doors: the main ones, such as Porta del Popolo for example, had two cylindrical towers on the sides, which made it particularly monumental and well defensible. Originally, however, Porta Asinaria was a secondary entrance, and for this reason, although certain documents are missing, it is believed that it was a simple arched opening, with two square-based turrets on the sides used for defense. Later, perhaps under Maxentius, or perhaps under pope Honorius I, the door underwent some sort of evolution, and these two elegant cylindrical turrets were added! So it is very easy to understand how each single element of Rome could change a lot over the centuries, especially if you think about how many historical episodes have passed under this door.

For example I should mention the so called Gothic-Byzantine war when Totila, the Gothic king who entered the city, sacking the city at the beginning of the 5th century. Not only barbarian kings, but also antipopes or emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, such as the famous Henry IV, who found himself embroiled in what will go down in history as the "Struggle for Investitures". A succession of characters from history who, in one way or another, had the will to subjugate Rome to their domain by passing through this and other entrances along the Aurelian Walls. Too bad that, as often happens, everything has its own end... the door, and the access road that passed under it, was closed during the XVI century. The different level in which the Porta Asinaria and the nearby one of San Giovanni are also symptomatic. The first is more ancient, and consequently rests on the floor of the past, placed lower than the modern one. In this way we have another visible example of the stratification of Rome, an ancient city that changed very much over the centuries. Finally, Porta Asinaria takes its name from an ancient street, also called Asinaria, which then came to merge with the Via Tuscolana. So even the name gives us the idea that we are talking about an access gate that, in some degree, takes its origins from an old past of the Eternal City.