Porta Borsari

Porta Borsari is the monumental Roman gate at the start of Corso Porta Borsari in Verona's historic centre, in the Veneto region of Italy. It marked the entrance to the Roman city on the Via Postumia, the major road linking Genoa and Aquileia, and in antiquity it was known as the Porta Iovia. The surviving facade dates from the first century AD and is built of white limestone, with two arched passages topped by two storeys of arched windows framed by columns and pediments. An inscription on the facade records that the walls of the city were restored under Emperor Gallienus in 265 AD, one of the clearest pieces of written evidence for the late Roman fortification of Verona. The medieval name Borsari comes from the officials who collected duties and tolls at this point, called the bursarii. Over the centuries the gate was integrated into the street frontage, and the road level rose, so excavations and visible paving beneath the gate show the Roman surface at a lower level. The monument is not a museum and has no curated collection; it is a street-side archaeological monument with a facade that can be read like a text, from its Latin inscription to the proportions of its decorative orders. The north face, which faced the countryside, is more richly decorated than the interior side. Restoration and cleaning have been carried out in modern times, and the stone has weathered visibly. Visitors can walk through the gate along the Corso, a lively shopping street with cafes, and look down to see the Roman road and archaeological remains below the modern pavement. It is free and accessible at all times, and sits a few minutes' walk from Piazza delle Erbe, Casa di Giulietta and Piazza Bra, so it fits naturally into a walking tour of Roman Verona.