Porta Pretoria, Aosta, Italy

Situated on the eastern section of the walls, Porta Pretoria provided the main access to the city of Augusta Praetoria. It was built in 25 BC after the defeat of the Salassians by Terenzio Varrone. It had three openings, which are still visible today: the central one for carriages and the side openings for pedestrians. The area inside the openings was used as a troop parade court, in its southern section, the land was dug up as far as the level of the ground during the Roman era.

On the outer facing openings you can still see the grooves from where the gates were lowered at night. The eastern facade still has some of the marble slabs that once covered the entire monument, on the inside it consists of blocks of puddingstone. In the Middle Ages there was a chapel dedicated to the Most Blessed Trinity resting against Porta Praetoria (now only an alcove of this remains), for many centuries, the same Porta Praetoria went by its name.

References:

Aosta Valley Tourism

User Reviews

Ofek Shaked (2 years ago)
Beautiful spot in the middle of aosta, history is shining here and you can feel and see how it was back in the old days.

Hamida Khan (4 years ago)
Impressive Roman gates. Pedestrianised streets. Plenty of cafes and ice cream shops to choose from. Lovely gift shops also. Great scenic views.

Kat Beatriz (4 years ago)
Beautiful gate to the old Roman area in Aosta city. There’s a tow of cafes as soon as you enter. Tourist-friendly and well kept.

Kyoung Kim (4 years ago)
Antique atmosphere with many shops and restaurants. Worth to go.

Кирилл Волошин (4 years ago)
worth visiting only if you're in the city ) nice starting of old town's footway

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright joiseyshowaa

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.

Porta Pretoria

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Timeless Treasures of Wales

Gothic Cathedrals of Belgium

Migthy Cathar Castles

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness