Porta Venere dates back to the Roman period and is more precisely of Augustan origin. It stands at the end of Via delle Mura Vecchie and of Spello’s five gates it is certainly the most beautiful and majestic. Also because of its name, historians place it in relation with the remains of a temple dedicated to Venus, found at Villa Fidelia, connected to the city through this entrance; it’s not a coincidence that the door faces in the direction of the sacellum. With three arches, and composed of white travertine with Doric order pilasters, it testifies to the glorious past of the Splendidissima Colonia Julia. It has a cavaedium, which is a fortified building with a double door; the whole area on which the city gate and the towers stand was once occupied by buildings, the remains of which can be seen in the cellars of the houses of the inhabitants of Via Torri di Properzio.
The grandeur of the gate is accentuated by the two dodecagonal towers that flank it, dedicated to Properzio (Propertius), probably built in the Middle Ages. The towers are made of local pink stone; the one in the east stands on the hilly ground, while the one in the west is on a square support measuring 10 metres in height.
The gate and tower complex was restored in the 1910-1920s when many medieval buildings were demolished, and then in 1940 and 1941. The latest restoration work, in 2014, opened both towers to the public.