The monumental arch visible from this vantage point is part of the Acqua Felice, a 16th-century aqueduct commissioned by Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590), born Felice Peretti, who, as soon as he became pope, promoted its construction with the aim of urbanising the city’s hilly areas (the Esquiline, Quirinal, and Viminal areas).
The monument has the appearance of a triumphal arch, with a central arch that is larger than the two lateral ones, entirely covered in volcanic Peperino rock, with the exception of some cornices and ornamental features in travertine. The heraldic insignia found in the decorations is evidence of the papal patronage: on the keystone of the central arch and in the adjacent spaces is the protome of a lion, stars and mountains, and around the minor arches are branches with pears, a clear reference to the pontiff’s family: the Peretti.
