Archeopalestrina Percorso archeologico di Palestrina, l'antica Praeneste
St. Martin’s Gate
Porta San Martino (St. Martin’s Gate) is a gateway in the medieval walls which follow the antique fortification layout built in polygonal and squared masonry style.
The gate is the main western access to the city since the ancient times and on its right is still visible the walled-up gateway of the massive ancient wall in Opus Quadratum that used to protect this side of the city.
The squared tuff masonry style portions of the fortification represents the latest phase (3rd and 2nd century B.C.) of the original walls dating to the beginning of the 4th century B.C. and made of polygonal limestone blocks.
Passing through Porta San Martino and walking along corso Pierluigi, one reaches piazza della Liberazione; the foundations of a rectangular temple dating to the late Republican period have been found right under the square.
The building, characterized by an inner room (cella) and two forward extensions of the sidewalls (antae) of the cella, had a façade-porch with a double row of four columns and six columns in the long sides. It had no colonnade on the back-façade.
This temple plan founds its parallel in the 3rd century B.C. phase of the Temple C of Largo Argentina in Rome.
