Porticus Octaviae: The Imperial Gate & Medieval Fish Market

Why is it significant?

Stand beneath the towering fluted Corinthian columns and ancient brick arches of the Porticus Octaviae.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Stand beneath the towering fluted Corinthian columns and ancient brick arches of the Porticus Octaviae. Look closely at the colossal pediment: erected by Rome's first emperor Augustus in twenty-seven before Christ and dedicated to his beloved sister Octavia, this majestic complex once sheltered twin libraries, Greek sculpture galleries, and tranquil colonnaded gardens for the Roman public.

In the Middle Ages, this ruined marble entrance became the official Sant'Angelo Fish Market of Rome. Take note of the marble Latin inscription carved onto the stone pillar to your right: it mandated that the head of every fish sold that exceeded the length of the marble plaque belonged by law to the municipal conservators of the city for their private soup pots.

During the brutal Nazi roundup of October sixteenth, nineteen forty-three, over a thousand Jewish men, women, and children were arrested directly in these ancient porticoes and deported to Auschwitz; bronze stumbling stones set into the street stones bear their solemn names.

Stroll down the bustling flagstone street of Via del Portico d'Ottavia, the historic culinary heart of Roman-Jewish cuisine.