Arco dei Gavi Historical Timeline

Origins

The arch was built in the first century AD by the Gavii, a family prominent enough in Roman Verona to commission a monument on a public road for their own commemoration.

Turning points

It originally straddled the Via Postumia, the great Roman road across northern Italy, just outside the city walls -- so everyone entering Verona from the west passed under it and read the family's name.

Influential people

Lucius Vitruvius Cerdo, a freedman of the Vitruvius family, signed it as its architect. Roman buildings almost never name their designers, which makes this a small and valuable exception.

Cultural evolution

The arch survived into the modern era embedded in the medieval walls. In 1805 Napoleonic troops demolished it -- the usual justification was traffic and fortification work.

Present-day significance

The blocks were numbered and stored rather than dispersed, and in 1932 the arch was reassembled beside Castelvecchio, close to but not on its original site. It is therefore genuine Roman stone in a modern arrangement.