PORTA PINCIANA
: a gate in the Aurelian wall, famous for its defence by
Belisarius. On the keystone is a Greek cross (Procop.
BG i. 19, 23, 24, 29;
ii. I, 2, 5, 9, 10; seven times
πυλίς, five times
πύλη or
πύλαι). It was
still open in the eighth century, but was closed in the ninth century
(DMH: porta Pinciana clausa; the addition of the last word must have
been made at a later period, unless with Lanciani, we refuse to attribute
the DMH to Honorius).
The name had already become corrupt in the seventh century (
tertia
porta Porciniana (Portitiana, al.) et via eodem modo appellata, sed cum
pervenit ad Salariam nomen perdit; GMU 87;
R. ii. 404).
It was closed in 1808 and re-opened in 1887. It was originally a
postern, and was transformed into a gate by Honorius, who converted
the square tower on the right into a semi-circular one, and added the.
round tower on the left. At one time it had three stories, as older
views show. The arch is of travertine and so was the threshold; one
of the slabs of the latter bore the fragmentary sepulchral inscription
CIL vi. 35170 (Jord. i. I. 354;
BC 1892, 102;
1917, 214-216; Tiii. 12;
PBS iii. io. ii).
