The Museum of the Walls (Museo delle Mura) is one of those little known attractions worth visiting. Located in Porta San Sebastiano, literally inside the ancient Roman Gate originally known as Porta Appia, it offers the unique opportunity to gain access to a stretch of the Aurelian walls. It’s a thrilling experience which brings us back in time.
The Aurelian walls are one of the most impressive projects in Roman history. The previous walls had been built 7 centuries earlier and till the emperor Aurelian the need of further fortifications was not felt. The previous Servian walls were made of blocks of tufa, regularly shaped, placed in parallel rows, alternating the long and short side of the blocks (opus quadratum) , without the use of mortar. They were first built in the VI century BC (Servian from the name of the king Servius Tullius) even if the remains we can still see nowadays (a huge section by Termini Station) date back to the IV century BC reconstruction, which followed the Sack of Rome by the Gauls (390 BC).
With the concrete revolution at the end of III century BC, due to the introduction of a magic ingredient like the pozzolana (volcanic sand), mortar becomes eternal. Under Augustus bricks are no longer sun-dried but ‘baked’ in chambers that reach a temperature of 1000 C.
Under the emperor Aurelian the need of larger defensive walls is strongly due to the threat of Germanic tribes’ invasions. Rome is surrounded by 12 miles of defensive walls, built quickly during his short reign (270 -275 AD), including pre existing monuments like the Amphitheatrum Castrense or the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, in order to save time. Actually 1/6 of the walls is formed by previous structures incorporated along the perimeter.
Aurelian, emperor-soldier, born in the Roman province of the Illyricum (Serbia), was constatly at war, in a desperate attempt to restore the empire. He defeated several Germanic tribes and reconquered Palmyra and its empire in 273. Her legendary queen Zenobia who had invaded most of the Roman East including Egypt, was exiled to Rome. The Gallic empire was regained and Dacia abandoned.
It was a period of great instability, Rome was vulnerable and the walls were built too quickly to be ideal for long sieges. The project was entrusted predominantly to civilians.
The foundations were 13 feet deep. The core was made out of volcanic tufa aggregates, faced with reused bricks. The walls were almost 11 feet thick and 21 feet high. The towers, every 100 feet, were meant for catapults that could not hit enemies close to the walls. The walkways were accessible from the towers. 30 years later Maxentius doubled their height against the army of Constantine, even if he decided then to send out his army to face him in 312.
In the VI century the towers were 383 with 18 main gates.
Far from being perfect, built with haste, mostly by civilians, they proved to be an excellent bulwark till September 20th 1870 when Rome was captured by the Bersaglieri at Porta Pia and annexed to the kingdom of Italy.
They also represented the boundaries of the city till XIX century.
An alternative to the Museo delle Mura is: Museo della Via Ostiense – Porta San Paolo – near the Pyramid.
Both museums are free and open only in the morning (closed on Monday).
Museo delle Mura: find more
