Arco dei Gavi
Encyclopedia
The Arco dei Gavi is an ancient structure in Verona
, northern Italy
. It was built by the gens
Gavia, a noble Roman family who had their hometown in Verona, at the beginning of the Via Postumia
, the Roman road leading to the city. During the Middle Ages
it was used as a gate in the walls.
, during the communal
age of Verona, the city's council used it as an entrance gate when it was decided to surround Verona with a line of walls.
During the Napoleonic rule in Italy
, the French engineers demolished it. Its ruins were moved to a square and the to the Arena. In 1932 they were used to rebuild the arch, next to Castelvecchio, not far from its original location.
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was built by the gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
Gavia, a noble Roman family who had their hometown in Verona, at the beginning of the Via Postumia
Via Postumia
The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the consul Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus.It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia and Cremona, just east of the point where it crossed the Po River...
, the Roman road leading to the city. During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
it was used as a gate in the walls.
History
The arch was commissioned to architect L. Vitruvius Cerdo in the mid-1st century AD. In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, during the communal
Medieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
age of Verona, the city's council used it as an entrance gate when it was decided to surround Verona with a line of walls.
During the Napoleonic rule in Italy
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the French engineers demolished it. Its ruins were moved to a square and the to the Arena. In 1932 they were used to rebuild the arch, next to Castelvecchio, not far from its original location.