Porta Fontinalis

The Porta Fontinalis was a gate in the Servian Wall of ancient Rome, situated on the northern slope of Capitoline Hill near the Clivus Argentarius. It served as an exit point for the Via Salaria and initially for the Via Flaminia, connecting Rome to Picene and Gallic territories. After the construction of the Aurelian Walls in the late 3rd century AD, a segment of the Via Flaminia between the Porta Fontinalis and the new Porta Flaminia was renamed the Via Lata.

During the early 2nd century BC, following the Second Punic War, the aediles Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Aemilius Paullus built the Aemiliana portico, a covered walkway linking the Porta Fontinalis to the Altar of Mars in the Campus Martius. This structure was used by censors for conducting the census.

The gate's vicinity included notable sites: the Tomb of Bibulus (1st century BC), a funerary stele commemorating shoemaker Gaius Julius Helius, and structures built by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso above the gate. These were later demolished after his involvement in a conspiracy against Emperor Tiberius.

The name "Porta Fontinalis" derived from nearby springs (fontes), such as the one at the lowest level of the Tullianum, and was associated with the god Fons or Fontus, celebrated during the Fontinalia festival. The gate is mentioned in historical sources by Livy and Paulus.