Porta San Sebastiano In Rome, Italy Editorial Image

Porta San Sebastiano at the beginning of the Appian Way today via di Porta San Sebastiano in Rome, Italy. The Porta San Sebastiano is the largest and one of the best-preserved gates passing through the Aurelian Walls in Rome. Originally known as the Porta Appia, the gate sat astride the Appian Way, the regina viarum queen of the roads, which originated at the Porta Capena in the Servian Wall. The original structure was constructed by Aurelian ca. AD 275 and included a double-arched opening surmounted by bow windows and two semi-cylindrical towers. The façade was faced with travertine. After a later restoration, the towers were enlarged, increased, and linked, through two parallel walls, to the preexisting Arch of Drusus.