Piazzale di Porta Pia - Roma, Italy - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Piazzale di Porta Pia is one of the most famous places for the Italians, because it is through a breach in the wall of Aurelian, a few meters from the Porta Dia, that in 1870 the Italian troops (the Bersaglieri) managed to invade the city, last remnant of the pontifical states bitterly defended by Pope Pius IX.

Already in 1860, Camillo Cavour had expressed the idea that Rome would become the capital of the new kingdom of Italy, but the pope had refused to give up his temporal power over his territories, despite Cavour's guarantees to preserve absolute freedom and the independence of the Church towards the civil power.

For ten years, Rome had been "under siege," defended by French troops. But on July 19, 1870, the Franco-Prussian war broke out, the French withdrew and the city was left defenseless.

Porta Pia is one of the gateways to the city. An arched entry in the Aurelian walls, it is located at the beginning of Via Nomentana, one of the historic roads that radiated from the capital to the hinterlands. Porta Pia was commissioned by Pope Pius IV and named after him, built to replace the old Nomentana gate which was just a few meters away.

The architectural commission for Porta Pia was entrusted to Michelangelo who designed two distinctly different facades. The one facing the (then) countryside had a more classical and monumental style, while the opposite facade was more imposing and decorated, like a palace or a church. This is one of Michelangelo's latest works.

Opposite the Porta Pia, at the centre of the piazzale, is the Monumento al Bersagliere, work of Publio Morbiducci, erected in 1932 on a commission from Mussolini.

Sources: (visit link) and (visit link)

Stamp Issuing Country: Italy Date of Issue: 20 September 2010 Denomination: 0.60 € Color: multicoloured Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for this category, you must visit the actual site of the waymark. Post at least one photo that you personally took of the site if at all possible. If you cannot provide a photo for some reason, your visit will still be welcome.

You do NOT need to be a stamp collector to visit the waymark site, nor do you have to provide a photo of the stamp. Just having a copy of the stamp in question, however, is not sufficient; you must personally visit the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.