View of Porta Maggiore from Hostel Porta Maggiore
Porta Maggiore ? Rome?s famous city gate at the eastern extremity of the Aurelian Wall, known as the place where all Roman aqueducts once used to converge the waters of Acqua Claudia and l?Anio Novus, started by Caligula in 38 AC.
Construction of Porta Maggiore, 32 metres high, was begun with the double aim ? of providing a monumental access to the city for two roads that converged there, Via Prenestina and Via Labicana, and conducting the confluence of two aqueducts over those roads towards the city in order to provide the citizens with sufficient water considering the elevation of the ground.
Actually, the gate in ancient times was called Porta Praenestina but later as it lead to the important church Santa Maria Maggiore, that?s why the name of the gate changed into Porta Maggiore.
In 1838 the Pope Gregory XI ordered the excavations that brought to the light the Tomb of Eurysaces that had been totally covered since antiquity and dating back to 15 BC. The tomb has the shape of the baker?s oven as it was dedicated to Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor and government official as it can be read on the upper section of the tomb.