Press Releases

The new artistic lighting system of Porta San Sebastiano was inaugurated yesterday evening in the presence of the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, the Ceo of Acea, Giuseppe Gola, and Marco Frascarolo from the Department of Architecture of Roma Tre University.

The project, fruit of the collaboration between the City of Rome and Acea, aims to add value to the monument and improve the quality of the light of one of Rome’s most important and best preserved gates. The old lighting system was replaced with a modern LED technology system reducing both energy consumption – in name of sustainability and respect for the environment – and the visual impact of the projectors on the building. To deliver the new lighting system, Acea installed: two projectors with thin horizontal elliptical optics to illuminate mainly the central part of the building; six 30° rotosymmetric optics that point to the top semi-circular part of the towers; 14 round fitted lights with wallwasher optics to light the lower part of the travertine towers; two fitted linear systems with grazing angle optics positioned inside the arch to highlight the gate and the historic incisions.

The work on the new system was preceded by a study of the entire Aurelian Walls carried out with the support of the Department of Architecture of Roma Tre University, as part of a collaboration started with Areti in 2018.

The Capital’s Superintendency, MIBACT, and the Archaeological Park of Appia Antica consulted on the choice of two different colors of light to suit the brick and marble parts of the monument.

Porta San Sebastiano is just one of many projects delivered by the City of Rome and Acea. Among others: the artistic lighting systems for Piazza del Popolo, the Arch of Constantine, the Pantheon, the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Porta Pia, Palazzo Farnese and the facade of the Church of Santa Brigida, the Old Town of Ostia Antica, the Basilicas of Saint John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Dome of the Great Synagogue, Piazza del Campidoglio, and Valadier Tower.