Arco dei Gavi

The Arco dei Gavi is a first-century AD Roman arch standing beside Castelvecchio on Corso Cavour in Verona, in the Veneto region of Italy. It was built for the Gavii, a prominent local family, and originally spanned the Via Postumia at the edge of the Roman city, where it served as a monumental gateway-style structure rather than a state triumphal arch. The arch is notable because its architect signed it: an inscription names Lucius Vitruvius Cerdo, a rare example of a Roman builder recording his own name on a monument. Constructed of local white limestone, the single-fornix arch has pilasters, columns and a decorated entablature typical of early imperial design. Its later history is unusual. In 1805, during the Napoleonic period, French troops dismantled the arch to ease traffic and widen the road, and the stones were stored. The monument was reassembled in 1932 near Castelvecchio, close to its original position, using the original blocks, and its present setting was chosen to be visible from the Adige riverfront and the fortress. The arch is not a museum, and there are no collections or curated sequence; visitors view the exterior from the street and can walk through the opening. The site is best read together with Castelvecchio, whose Scarpa-designed museum displays sculpture and finds from Roman and medieval Verona. Details of the carved architectural elements and the architect's inscription reward a close look, though some surfaces have weathered. The arch is maintained by the city and is viewable at all times without charge. Its location at the junction between the medieval fortress and the old Roman road makes it a convenient stop on a walking route from Piazza Bra to the river.