Porta dei Greci

The story

Porta dei Greci opens in the walls of the Kalsa towards the sea, and takes its name from the Greek-Albanian community that settled in this part of the city in the modern period.

In its present form the gate is 17th-century, with a single arch and carving on the seaward face.

Outside the gate, on land reclaimed from the water, Villa Giulia was later laid out: the gate marks the border between the walled city and the 18th-century gardens.

Why it is worth it

It is not a monument to visit: it is a threshold. In ten metres you pass from the tangle of Kalsa alleys to the open air of the Foro Italico, and you feel that change of scale physically. Look at the arms carved above the arch, and from outside notice how the gate sits lower than the street: the ground level has risen over the centuries.