The Porta di San Pancrazio is located in the quartiere Gianicolense in Rome. It marks the beginning of the Via Aurelia Antica. Nowadays it houses a free museum dedicated to the memory of Garibaldi.
Porta San Pancrazio Rome
Address, opening hours and admission
Address Museo della Repubblica Romana e della Memoria Garibaldina – Complesso monumentale di Porta San Pancrazio: Largo di Porta San Pancrazio – Rome. Phone: +39 060608 (information number of the city of Rome). Opening hours: Tuesdat to Friday from 10.00 till 14.00 and Saturdays and Sundays from 10.00 till 18.00. Admission: Entrance is free, but for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis reservations are mandatory, except for MIC-Card holders. Closed: Mondays, January 1, May 1, December 25.
History and description
The Porta San Pancrazio was built in 1854 in order to replace another, 17th century gate. The first version had been constructed by Pope Urban VIII as a part of the Mura Gianicolense, after it had been destroyed during a heroic battle in 1849.
The original gate had been created by Mattia de’ Rossi, after a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Pope Pius X made the neo-classicist architect Virginio Vespignani construct the second version.
Soldiers were housed in the gate. One of their duties was to receive taxes from people entering the city.
The city walls included a good part of the Trastevere district, whose inhabitants had been extremely courageous in their resistance to the Fench army in 1849. During the battle a big part of the city walls was damaged and the Porta di San Pancrazio had to be completely replaced.
Nowadays the Porta San Pancrazio is the seat of the Associazione Nazionale Veterani e Reduci Garibaldini, who also run a small Museo Garibaldino there.