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Porta S. Lorenzo (Book 1) (Day 2) and (Day 3) (Map A3) (Rione Monti)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 The gate
 S. Bibiana
 The Walls between Porta S. Lorenzo and Porta Maggiore

The Plate (No. 6)

Porta S. Lorenzo

Very few Romans would today associate Via Prenestina with Porta S. Lorenzo, because now Via Prenestina starts immediately outside Porta Maggiore, while it is now Via Tiburtina which begins at Porta S. Lorenzo, which is therefore called also Porta Tiburtina. The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below which shows: 1) Porta S. Lorenzo; 2) S. Bibiana.

Small View

Today

The view today

The gate has been preserved by an opening in the walls a few yards to the left, but unfortunately the buildings so close to the walls hide and penalize this very interesting gate.

The inner Gate

The inner Gate

The inner gate is an arch built by Augustus and restored by Titus and Caracalla celebrating three aqueducts (Acqua Marcia, Tepula e Giulia) entering Rome. The emperor Onorius incorporated the arch in the gate when he restored Aurelianus' walls at the beginning of the Vth century. The gate was also called Porta Taurina (Taurus=bull) after the bull's head on the arch (see background).

S. Bibiana

S. Bibiana

Termini railway station is now between Porta S. Lorenzo and the little church of S. Bibiana (Vivien), which was built on the site where a young woman was tied to a column and lashed to death.  Gian Lorenzo Bernini had already a solid reputation as a sculptor when in 1625 Urbanus VIII commissioned him the restoration of this church. As an architect Bernini did not fare that well in S. Bibiana, but the statue of the saint is the first of a series of masterpieces. According to the traditional iconography she is portrayed with the symbols of her martyrdom: the whip and the column.

The Walls between Porta S. Lorenzo and Porta Maggiore

The walls between Porta S. Lorenzo and Porta Maggiore

High towers rebuilt by Nicolas V characterize this section of the walls. On the gate itself there are coats of arms of a Cardinal Farnese and a Cardinal Carafa (the latter is the only coat of arms of the Carafa which one can see in the streets of Rome, because at the death of Pope Paulus IV Carafa they were all destroyed). The lower tablet gives indications about who paid for the restoration: a) the date:  the year is not related to the Pope, but is the AC year.  b) the Latin case of the Pope's name: indicates it was "to" Clemens" not  "Clemens", therefore the Roman Senate (SPQR) and (not the Pope) paid for the restoration: you can notice the difference versus the coat of arms of Sixtus V.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa di S. Bibbiana
Dalla santa matrona Olimpia fu eretta questa chiesa appresso il palazzo Liciniano, ove abitando la s. Titolare, aveva seppellite s. Dafrosa sua madre, e s. Demetria sua sorella martiri; e poi nell'an. 362 vi fu portato il suo corpo da Giovanni Prete, levato dal luogo detto Forum tuari. Da Simplicio Papa fu consagrata, e da Onorio III. riedificata insieme col monastero delle suore Domenicane, e fu detta ad ursum. pileatum. Da Urbano VIII. fu ultimamente rinnovata col disegno del Bernini, il quale scolpė l'ammirabile statua della Santa, il corpo della quale, insieme con quello della sua sorella, e di sua madre, sta custodito sotto l'altare maggiore, entro una preziosa urna di alabastro orientale. A piede della chiesa evvi la colonna, cui legata fu flagellata s. Bibbiana, e sotto la chiesa corrisponde il cimiterio di s. Anastasio Papa, nel quale furono seppelliti 3266. martiri, non comprese le donne e i fanciulli. Le pitture a fresco sul cornicione a destra sono di Agostino Ciampelli quelle a sinistra di Pietro da Cortona.


Next plate in Book 1: Porta Maggiore
Next step in Day 2 itinerary: Villa Altieri
Next step in Day 3 itinerary: Basilica di S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura
Next step in your tour of Rione Monti: Rovine del Tempio di Ercole Callaico

Go to    or to  Book 1 or to my Home Page on Baroque Rome or to my Home Page on Rome in the footsteps of an XVIIIth century traveller.


All images © 1999 - 2003 by Roberto Piperno. Write to romapip@quipo.it