The location was strategically important due to the iron-rich cliffs of red
tuff that approach the river at this point, the confluence of several roads, and its function as the north entryway to Rome. Prima Porta was one of the scenes of Constantine's victory over the army of Maxentius in 312 which ended with the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The battle is shown in the frieze of the
Arch of Constantine in Rome. A triumphal arch was also erected here.
The Villa of Livia Nearby, the
villa of
Livia Drusilla called
Ad Gallinas Albas was probably part of Livia's dowry brought to the
Julio-Claudian dynasty. It was named and famous for its breed of white chickens and for its laurel grove (
Pliny's Natural History 15.136f), which were given auspiciously omened origins by
Suetonius. The villa's site was rediscovered and explored as early as 1596, but it was not recognized as that of Livia until the nineteenth century. In 1863–1834, a marble
krater carved in refined low relief was discovered at the site and in 1867 one of the most famous marble statue of Augustus, the
Augustus of Prima Porta, which is now in the Vatican (
Braccio Nuovo), was discovered here. The magisterial
Augustus is a marble copy of a bronze statue that celebrated the return in 20 BC of the military standards captured by the
Parthians in 53 BC after the defeat of Crassus at
Carrhae: a rich iconography plays out in the low reliefs that decorate his
cuirass. The villa occupied the height dominating the view down the
Tiber Valley to Rome; some of the walling that retained its terraces may still be seen (Piperno). Except for works of terracing—the gardens are currently being excavated—, all that can be seen today are three vaulted subterranean rooms, from the largest of which the fine fresco decor of an illusionistic garden view, where all the plants and trees flower and fruit at once, was removed to Rome; it has recently been reinstalled in the
Palazzo Massimo, following cleaning and restoration. The vault above the fresco was covered with stucco reliefs of which only a few remains survive. The villa was built and modified in four stages, the earliest of
Republican date, the latest of the time of
Constantine the Great. In the nineteenth century the villa belonged to the convent of
Santa Maria in Via Lata; it may never have passed into private hands. A new series of more meticulous modern excavations was initiated in 1970.
Modern history The new cemetery of Rome was established in Prima Porta in 1945, on a project by the architect
Elena Luzzatto. With its extension of 140 hectares, the
Cimitero Flaminio is the largest cemetery in Italy; it is crossed by 37 km of internal roads, on which vehicles and buses circulate. Pope Francis, having previously said Mass on
All Soul's Day at Rome's
Campo Verano Cemetery, said that Mass here in 2016. In 1965, heavy rains made two near Tiber tributaries, which had no protective banks, to flood the area, generating infrastructural and economic damage. Water level was two meters high at some points. == Geography ==