Porta Pretoria was the main entrance to the camp of the Second Partic Legion (Legio II Parthica) built between the end of the 2nd and the 3rd century A.D. by Emperor Septimius Severus and was located along the Appian Way.
Today the gate is right in front of the Savelli Palace, seat of the municipality of Albano.
The Roman camps were fortified places surrounded by mighty walls and the gate had three openings, one large central and two lateral, and two guard towers.
Porta Pretoria was built with large blocks of tufa and originally it was 35 meters across with a minimum height of 12 meters.
The Albano Laziale camp occupied an area of over 10 hectares and housed about 6,000 soldiers, who took the name of Legionari Albani, so it was very similar to a medium-sized town.
For many years the gate was not visible because it was incorporated into a building in the centre and was only "discovered" following the Allied bombing of World War II.
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