Entrando in città. Toponomastica delle porte urbiche nelle città romane

The contribution intends to examine the ancient names of the city gates of Roman cities, with particular regard to Italy. In spite of the fact that the entrances were the first perceptible element of a city, the analysis of the literary and epigraphic sources reveals that the number of known attestations is very limited. Nevertheless, it is possible to make some considerations on the general criteria with which the gates were named and the dynamics with which these names have come to us. In this regard, the known cases are mostly due to occasional mentions (mainly connected with road works) and derive mostly from geographical references, with names born and widespread – in all probability – in a purely local and unofficial context.