Arco d'Augusto

The Senate and people of Rome dedicated it to Octavian Augustus in 27 BC, when the emperor had the Via Flaminia restored, the road that connected Rome to Rimini. It is the oldest of the Roman arches to have survived to our day. The inscription on the attic still commemorates this.

It is built of Istrian stone: the passage is almost nine metres wide and over ten metres high. Such a wide opening could not be closed by gates, and that was precisely the message: after years of civil war, peace had arrived with Augustus.

Look at the four medallions between the arch and the capitals. On the outer side you'll see Jupiter with his thunderbolts and Apollo with his lyre; towards the city, Neptune with his trident and the goddess Roma with her sword. On both faces, the ox heads recall that Rimini was a Roman colony.

Originally there was probably a statue of the emperor at the top; after it collapsed, perhaps in an earthquake, it was replaced in the Middle Ages by the battlements you see today. In the 1930s, excavation work revealed that the arch was a true gateway, connected to the city walls. The lawn and flowerbeds around it make it a lovely spot for a rest.