RESTI DELLA PORTA DECUMANA

Under the grand eighteenth-century staircase of this vast palazzo, and deep in its cellars, lie the remnants of Turin’s eastern gate. The Porta Decumana once controlled the entrance to the Roman colony of Augusta Taurinorum, and what survives are its foundations, part of its pillars, and two remarkable polygonal towers. These stood forward of the wall line, flanking four arches: two for vehicles, two for pedestrians. The towers, sixteen-sided on a square base, still hold their original internal core of pebble-and-mortar conglomerate; the outer facing was of sesquipedal bricks, with regular brick courses marking the levels. Broadly similar to the city’s better-known Porta Palatina, this gate seems to have been taller, evidence from the southern tower suggests an extra storey. Climbing the spiral staircases within offers a rare, unadorned glimpse of Roman engineering, preserved beneath later grandeur.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.