Museum of the Walls

Several of Rome’s numerous free museums are hidden gems. The Museum of the Walls, Museo delle Mura, is one of them. We took the bus out to the museum, which is inside the Porta San Sebastiano, one of the gates of the mighty Aurelian Walls that surround Rome.

The Porta San Sebastiano

 

A depiction of the Archangel Michael defeating a dragon, along with Medieval Latin, etched into the gate to commemorate a battle fought there in 1327.

A friendly woman issued us our free tickets, and in we went. We were among ten or so people visiting at the moment. Inside the museum, there are some mosaics from the 1900’s, some models of what the gate and walls looked like over time, and an educational play area for children. The day that we visited, there were also some Ancient Roman re-enactors.

Inside the Museum of the Walls, which is inside the San Sebastian gate

 

A lovely, modern mosaic of a lion and two stags

 

Another modern mosaic, of a battle scene

 

Model of the Aurelian Walls, with watch towers

 

Children’s area

 

Some Roman re-enactors visiting with museum goers

But, what you really come here for are the walls themselves. So we first climbed one of the towers to the top of the San Sebastian gate for a wonderful view.

Up on the walls, with one of the towers (which are round on one side and flat on the other)

 

Looking down from atop the gate at the Appian Way

 

From the top of the gate, what you get a peek of on the left…

 

… is the ancient Roman Arch of Drusus

Then it was off to explore some of the walls themselves.

 

Walking along the walls – very cool!

 

Looking out from inside the walls

 

Walking along the walls, with the gate in the distance

It was extremely fun walking through the walls and some of the towers, which are amazingly well preserved. You can imagine the soldiers manning these walls over the centuries. Indeed, the Aurelian Walls provided protection to Rome until they were breached by, fittingly, the Italians who re-captured Rome from the Pope in 1870, ushering in the unification of Italy. But, that is a story for another day. For us, it was time to hop a taxi and go for a wonderful lunch further out on the ancient Appian Way.

 

Published by spanishstepsapartment

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In the heart of Rome's Historic Center, between the beautiful Spanish Steps and the famous Trevi Fountain, this luxury two bedroom, two bathroom apartment is surrounded by fine dining and fabulous shopping. It is within walking distance of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and many other historic sites and museums, and near the subway, taxi stands, bus stops, and bike rental. Located in a traditional Roman palazzo, the apartment was fully renovated in late 2010 and is now available for vacation and short-term rental.