Aurelian Walls
The Aurelian Walls (Italian: Mura aureliane) are a line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC.
| Aurelian Walls | |
|---|---|
| Part of Rome | |
| Italy | |
A section of Aurelian wall between the Porta Ardeatina and Porta San Sebastiano | |
Map of ancient Rome with the Aurelian walls (red line) and its gates highlighted. The 4th-Century BC Servian Walls (blue line) are also shown. Highlands and the seven hills of Rome are shown in beige, with names; lowlands are in white. | |
Aurelian Walls | |
| Type | Defensive wall |
| Height | Up to 10 metres (33 ft) |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Italian Government |
| Open to the public | Open to public |
| Condition | Remaining sections: Either semi-ruinous or partly restored |
| Site history | |
| Built | 271–275 AD |
| Built by | Roman citizens |
| Materials |
|
| Demolished | Some parts in the Medieval Period |
| Events |
|
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Praetorian Guard |
| Occupants | Romans |
The walls enclosed all the seven hills of Rome plus the Campus Martius and, on the right bank of the Tiber, the Trastevere district. The river banks within the city limits appear to have been left unfortified, although they were fortified along the Campus Martius. The size of the entire enclosed area is 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres). The wall cut through populated areas: in reality the city at the time embraced 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres). Pliny the Elder in the first century AD suggested that the densely populated areas, extrema tectorum ("the limits of the roofed areas") extended 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) from the Golden Milestone in the Forum (Natural History 3.67).