PORTAL OF PALAZZO MARGANI, C. 1400, WITH SPOLIA FRAME, C1-C2 CE. PIAZZA MARGANA The Margani family were a lesser Roman noble family who appear in history in the 1270s. They were feudal lords of the castle of Montelibretti and other fiefdoms outside the city, and in 1305 they bought the tower at left from the Mellini family. They expanded their holdings in this block through the Trecento, and around 1400 they decided to make a statement of their membership in the civic ruling class by taking pieces of fallen cornice to make the frame for a portal alongside their tower. The carving suggests either a Domitianic date or a Severan one, in both cases dense with vegetal and floral ornamentation, a row of coffers framed with a Lesbian kyma and a central rosette. A missing section at upper left has been replaced with a simple marble lintel sporting a small Margani family crest.

For #SpoliaSunday we have this portal, probably built around 1400 by the #Margani family to close off a gap between their buildings on either side, including the #TorMargana at left. The portal is made of pieces of #spolia cornice from a huge imperial building. #AncientBluesky 🏺