Etruscan Arch

Coordinates: 43°6′52″N 12°23′22.8″E / 43.11444°N 12.389667°E / 43.11444; 12.389667

The arch seen from Piazza Grimana

The Etruscan Arch or Arch of Augustus is one of seven gates in the Etruscan wall of Perugia. It was constructed in the second half of the 3rd century BC and was restored by Augustus in 40 BC after his victory in the Perusine War. Representing the best surviving and most monumental of the Etruscan city gates it opens on to the cardo maximus of the city, corresponding to the modern Ulisse Rocchi Road.

The arch consists of an attractive facade with a single archway and two trapezoidal towers. Above the arch (in two concentric rows) there is an ornate frieze of metopes with round shields and triglyphs; above this is another arch between two pilasters.

On the internal face it is possible to read the inscription Augusta Perusia, which was the name of the city after the reconstruction of 40 BC; on the external face the inscription Colonia Vibia is inscribed, testimony to the ius coloniae received from Emperor Trebonianus Gallus (251-253).

The loggia on the left tower is an addition from the 16th century, while the fountain at the bottom of the same tower was completed in 1621.

In front of the arch is Palazzo Gallenga Stuart, seat of the University for Foreigners Perugia.

Bibliography

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