Porta San Paolo and the Pyramid of Cestius are located in one of the best-preserved sections of the Aurelian Walls. The current name was given to this gate in the Middle Ages, due to its proximity to the Basilica of Saint Paul, reachable by a devotional path along the Ostiense Way, which began its route towards the sea right here.
Today, Porta San Paolo houses the Museum of the Ostiense Way at Porta San Paolo, which preserves materials from the territory between Rome and Ostia. Noteworthy are three arcosolia—a type of burial found in catacombs—paintings from a 3rd-century AD tomb discovered near the Basilica of St. Paul, many casts of inscriptions and funerary steles. Also on display are two important models representing ancient Ostia and the complex of the imperial ports of Claudius and Trajan. In the eastern tower, there are remains of frescoes dating from the late 13th to early 14th century, decorations of a chapel of the Byzantine community.
