Arch of Riccardo - Virtual Tour 360°

In Trieste, starting from the old Roman Theater, crossing the alleys of the Old Trieste you can reach in a few minutes Piazza Barbacan: one of the few places in the city, where handicraft activities and the small antiques trade still persist.

In this square, one of the best preserved Roman remains in the city is still visible: the Arco di Riccardo. It is an imposing Roman gate dating back to the Augustan era (33 BC), which is seven meters high and five and a half meters wide that was built by the consul Octavian.

The name of the Arch probably came from the Latin word "cardo". With this term, one of the two main streets of every Roman city was indicated in ancient terminology. And coincidentally, one of the crucial streets of the Roman Tergeste started from Piazza Barbacan.

The Arch does not have any precious ornaments or particular artistic sophistications. Indeed its aesthetic peculiarities are characterized by extreme simplicity and linearity. If on the pillars, the Arch is decorated with pilasters, in the under-arch the representation of a very particular plant motif stands out.

Furthermore, in the immediate vicinity of the Arco di Riccardo, there are also some excavations of undoubted archaeological significance. These are some remains of ancient late Republican walls, which were found, many years ago, following the works planned by the Municipality of Trieste, in this city district for the realization of the "Urban Project" (Project for the reconstruction of buildings, environmental revitalization, arts and crafts).

The great wall found was two meters wide and twice as high, and constituted only a fragment of the numerous archaeological remains found in other points of Cittavecchia.

The walls of Piazza Barbacan have been a further confirmation that the republican Tergeste (first century BC) was mostly perched on the Colle di San Giusto and surrounded by mighty walls, whose strategic role was lost only with the advent of the imperial period (1st century AD), in which the city expanded.

The puzzle of the "Roman Trieste", despite these remains and some others found in other parts of the city, is, however, still very far from being completed. The archaeologists, responsible for the Urban Project, despite being aware that the soil could hold countless other Roman finds, were forced for years to live with the serious problem, that the city, for many years, was completely abandoned by archeology. In fact, with the exception of some episodic and emergency excavations, local archeology underestimated the importance and extent of Trieste for decades.

Map: Arch of Riccardo - Virtual Tour 360°

vCard Info:

Address: Piazzetta Barbacan, 34100
Trieste (TS) Friuli Venezia Giulia
Latitude: 45.64773836930743
Longitude: 13.76885175704956
Site: ...

vCard created by: Marco Cadelli
Currently owned by: Marco Cadelli

Type: Monument
Function: Archaeological site
Creation date: 12-04-2022 07:03
Last update: 22/04/2022