Porta del Popolo

People's Gate is a port of the Aurelian Walls. The original name was Flaminia Gate, because here came, and still comes out, the Via Flaminia. The current appearance is the result of a reconstruction made necessary by the renewed importance which, in the sixteenth century, the Port had to taken from the point of view of urban traffic coming from the north. The exterior facade was commissioned by Pope Pius IV to Michelangelo, who moved the job to Nanni di Baccio Bigio, who created the work between 1562 and 1565 inspired by the Arch of Titus. The four columns of the facade are from the ancient St. Peter's Basilica and frame the large single arch, dominated by the memorial plaque of the restoration and the papal coat of arms supported by two cornucopias. The original towers with a circular base were replaced by two mighty watchtowers square and the whole building was topped by elegant battlements. In 1638 between the two pairs of columns were included statues of St. Peter and St. Paul, by Francesco Mochi. The interior facade was instead created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Alexander VII.