Arch of Dolabella

The Arch of Dolabella is an ancient city gate in Rome, next to the church of Santa Maria in Domnica, leading into the park of Villa Celimontana. It was built in the time of the Roman Republic as a city gate in the Servian Wall named Porta Caelimontana.

Location

The Porta Caelimontana lay on the eponymous hill, the Caelian Hill. If one went earlier assumes that the Porta Caelimontana between the Porta Esquilina and the second gate of the Servian wall on the Caelian Hill, the Porta Querquetulana was, now the view has prevailed that the Porta Caelimontana southwest of the Porta Querquetulana lay with the Dolabella arc is identified. Outside the Servian Wall was a well- known Via Caelimontana road in an easterly direction (now the Via S. Stefano Rotondo ). Within the city walls led from the Porta Caelimontana the clivus Scauri direction Palatine Hill, the Vicus Camenarum along the city wall to the Porta Capena and the vicus Capitis Africae in a northerly direction to the Coliseum.

History

As well all the gates of the Servian Wall was restored in the time of Augustus the Porta Caelimontana. An inscription on the outside of the attic shows that this was done by the consuls of the year 10 AD, Publius Cornelius Dolabella and Gaius Junius Silanus. The arch is built of travertine from Tivoli. In Neronian times the extension of the Aqua Claudia was passed over the bow.