What Roman triumphal arch in Benevento, Italy, was built in 114 AD for Emperor Trajan?

The Roman triumphal arch in Benevento built for Emperor Trajan is the Arch of Trajan at Benevento.

The monument was erected between 114 and 117 AD, honoring Trajan where the Via Appia entered the city. It also commemorated the Via Traiana, a major road that provided a faster route from Benevento toward Brindisi. Its decoration presents Trajan as both victorious commander and beneficent ruler.

The arch’s richly carved panels show scenes involving the emperor, the Senate, the Roman people, provincial communities, and the army. One interior panel depicts the opening of the Via Traiana; another refers to the alimenta, a welfare program intended to support children in Roman Italy. The frieze celebrates Trajan’s triumph after victory over Dacia.

The structure has a single barrel-vaulted passage and measures about 15.6 meters high and 8.6 meters wide. In the Lombard period it was incorporated into Benevento’s walls and became known as the Porta Aurea, or “Golden Gate.” Renaissance and later artists, including Sebastiano Serlio and Giovanni Battista Piranesi, helped draw attention to it.