Porta Pia

Raffaele Cadorna entered Rome through this gate and, since then, every September 20, crowds gather here to commemorate the Risorgimento. The monumental gate by Michelangelo, who designed it for Pope Pius IV, was later completed with the statues of two saints and a painting of the Madonna on the outer side at the command of Pope Pius IX. The nearest point, la Breccia, is decorated with commemorative plaques. In 1932, a statue dedicated to the Bersaglieri (Italian light infantrymen) was erected in the square, and in 1936 the statues of the saints that had been damaged on that fateful September 20 were restored. A mosaic reproducing the painted image of the Madonna was also added, as the original was damaged during the artillery's fire.