Porta Settimiana

The Settimiana Gate

The Rome audio-guided tour presents you with the Settimiana Gate, a vestige of the ancient ramparts that protected the city, at the edge of Trastevere.

A gate of the Aurelian Wall

The Settimiana Gate is part of the vestiges of the ramparts built by the emperor Aurelian in the third century. This wall, about nineteen kilometres long and some ten metres high, encircled the city to protect it from outside attacks, before being improved and restored by the popes over the centuries. It allowed several sieges and raids to be repelled, but prevented neither the sack of Rome in the fifth century nor the taking of the city by the Italian troops in 1870. A large part of the Aurelian Wall still survives and today marks the administrative limit of the historic centre. As for the Settimiana Gate, it is the only one of the three original gates still in its original location; it connects Trastevere to the neighbouring district of Borgo.

What there is to see

The Settimiana Gate bears witness, by its silhouette, to the Aurelian ramparts that protected ancient Rome. The only one of the three original gates still in its place, it connects Trastevere to the district of Borgo. It is a discreet but history-laden stage, to observe along the walk.

Practical information

The Settimiana Gate is at the edge of the district of Trastevere, in Rome, on the route of the Aurelian Wall. An open-air monument, it can be contemplated freely at all hours, along the walk.

From when do the ramparts of which the gate is part date?

From the third century: the gate belongs to the Aurelian Wall, raised to protect the city from outside attacks.

What is special about the Settimiana Gate?

It is the only one of the three original gates still in its original location, connecting Trastevere to the district of Borgo.