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The Porta Saracena and the Cyclopean Walls of Segni: 5 km of history
Porta Saracena is the symbol of Segni, a small town near Rome with two millennia of history behind it. This gate opens along the polygonal masonry walls of the ancient Signia — just over 5 km of enormous blocks, still intact and visitable for nearly their entire length. These are the so-called Cyclopean Walls, found throughout southern Lazio, and they still amaze visitors today with the sheer size of the blocks and the legends surrounding their origin.
How the Cyclopean Walls were built
The blocks were quarried just uphill from where the wall was needed. Workers drove wooden wedges into the rock, soaked them with water, and waited: the wood expanded and split the stone. After initial rough shaping, the blocks were slid downhill on rollers to the building site. There they were shaped to interlock with the blocks already in place, then set and smoothed.
Porta Saracena and the other gates of the city
There are several entrances to the town along the wall ring: Porta Foca, Porta dell'Elcino, Porta Maggiore, and — the most famous — Porta Saracena. There are also "posterulae," secondary openings for people and livestock. All follow a precise defensive layout: in case of siege, defenders could strike attackers with crossfire, from the front and from the side.
The Archaeological Park
The route along the walls is part of the Distributed Urban Archaeological Park called "Segni Città Museo," established in 2020.
