Porta Venere, Roman city gate in Spello, Italy

Porta Venere is one of the six Roman city gates of Spello, built of white travertine with Doric pilasters and three arched openings (fornices) from the reign of Augustus (27 BC–AD 14). It is flanked by two massive dodecagonal Romanesque towers on tall square supports, often compared to Turin's Porta Palatina. The towers are called "di Properzio" after the Latin poet Propertius, whose birthplace Spello and Assisi disputed.

The gate originates from the Augustan period and was part of the Roman fortification system protecting the settlement boundaries. Over time, sections were repaired and rebuilt, leaving traces of different construction phases visible in the structure today.

The name Porta Venere dates from the 17th century, when scholars linked the gate to a temple of Venus whose traces were found in the park of villa Fidelia. The gate faces the amphitheatre and sanctuary of villa Fidelia, and medieval processions passed through it toward Assisi and Perugia, as did the consuls of Spello on their way to the annual feast at San Claudio.

Porta Venere opens onto the upper part of Spello, where the right fornix once led to an underground passage toward Porta Urbica and the left one to the patrol walkway. The gate is reached on foot along the lanes of the historic centre; the two towers are called after the poet Propertius, whose birthplace Spello and Assisi disputed.

The lower sections of the towers display different construction techniques compared to the upper rebuilt arches, revealing multiple repair phases across centuries. This layering of old and new craftsmanship makes the gate a valuable example of ancient preservation work.