Porta San Paolo

The Porta San Paolo, known in antiquity as the Porta Ostiensis, is one of the best-preserved gates in the Aurelian Walls and stands beside the Pyramid of Cestius. From here the Via Ostiensis left Rome toward the port of Ostia and the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, which gives the gate its current name. Built between 271 and 275 under Aurelian and reinforced in the 5th century by Honorius with two massive semicircular towers, the gate retains much of its late antique form: two outer arches and a single inner opening. On 10 September 1943 it was the scene of the Battle of Porta San Paolo, one of the last organised defences of Italian troops and Roman civilians against advancing German forces, recalled by an inscription on the gate. The towers house the small Museo della Via Ostiense, with models and finds from the ancient road. The gate now sits on a busy junction next to the Roma Porta San Paolo station and the Pyramid.