Porta Pia is one of the gates of the Aurelian Walls universally known to dominate the scenario of the battle of the Risorgimento after which Rome entered the Kingdom of Italy.
Built to substitute the nearby Porta Nomentana, the door was designed by Michelangelo and is also represented in one of his latest works. On the inner wall of the door, the artist has included a mysterious ornament similar to a basin with a towel wrapped around it and a bar of soap at its center.
Legend tells that the choice was made to mock the distracted pope who commissioned the job, Pius IV, in reference to his modest barber’s family origins.
And Michelangelo, also present in a medallion, is still laughing.
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