Porta Asinaria

Porta Asinaria

Porta Asinaria is one of many gates that make up the Aurelian Walls of Rome. Built between 270 and 273, it is one of the wall's original gates. Unique among the gates of the walls, it is composed of tower blocks and comprises several guard rooms.

History

In 536, General Belisarius led his troops through this gate to retake Rome from the Ostrogoths on behalf of the Byzantine Empire. A mere 10 years later, however, traitors opened the gate to King Totila and his Ostrogoths, resulting in the city being sacked for the second time within a century.

Trivia

The Porta Ostiense, mislabeled as the Porta Asinaria in the game

• In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, all of the gates of Rome are misidentified, though Shaun Hastings's database entries remain factually correct. The gate marked as the Porta Asinaria is actually the Porta Ostiense, complete with the iconic Pyramid of Cestius sitting next to it which is accurately cited in the database as a feature of the Porta Ostiense. The proper Porta Asinaria is instead labeled as the Porta Turrionis. For convenience, this article assumes that, canonically, Shaun Hastings's research is correct, whereas the Animus 2.01 is at fault for labeling the gates erroneously.
• Despite the fact that the database entry accurately describes the Porta Asinaria as unique for its tower blocks and guard rooms, neither the gate in the game nor the Porta Ostiense mislabeled as the Porta Asinaria bear these features that still exist in real-life.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood