One of the most mysterious, but lesser known monuments of Rome, is a marble structure sitting in the corner of the gardens of Piazza Vittorio. It is called the Alchemical Door, also known as the Magic Portal or Gate. The door’s frame is etched with curious symbols and writings. The complete meaning to these are unknown, but many believe, once these mystifying engravings are understood, a person would be able to turn lead into gold by following their coded instructions.
Below enjoy the top ten interesting facts on this fascinating piece of history! We had the pleasure of visiting the door when we traveled to Rome in October of 2018.
1)The Alchemical Door was built by Massimilano Palombara in approximately 1680 and was part of Villa Palombara in Rome. Palombara was marquis of Pietraforte and was known for his interest in occult matters. He had a close relationship with the contentious Queen Christina of Sweden, who was well learned and shared similar pursuits in the ancient mysteries. Both were active participants in the group of alchemists known as the Alchemists of Palazzo Riario.
2)Today the Alchemical Door can be seen in the largest piazza of Rome, the Piazza Vittorio. This piazza is not one of the main attractions visited by tourists, but offers a beautiful walk through gardens. The piazza is located in the historic Esquilino section, which is named after Esquiline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome.
3)The mysterious door was one of five portals constructed by Palombara. It is the only gate remaining from the doorways he designed for placement in his Villa’s gardens. During the construction of the Esquilino District in the 1800’s, many Villas of the area were destroyed. It is somewhat of a miracle the door was saved, and moved from its original location to where it sits now, but that may be explained by the legend surrounding it.
4)According to legend, a pilgrim, named Giuseppe Francesco Borri, visited the marquis Palombara at his Villa. Borri was an alchemist himself, and stayed with the marquis, while working in Palombara’s laboratory in search of the Philosopher’s Stone. One night he roamed the gardens looking for a powerful herb which could be used to complete the transformation of lead into gold. He is believed to have succeeded. For the next morning, Borri was gone, leaving only flakes of gold at the garden’s magical doorstep and the secret formula for those who could understand to follow.
5)The formula was written on a piece of parchment. It described all that was needed to turn lead into gold, but this was not understood by Palombara. The parchment consisted of numerous symbols and phrases of a most mysterious nature. It is these very symbols and inscriptions which are seen on the Alchemical Door. Palombara had the cryptic formula engraved onto the door’s frame in hopes someday they would be understood. Anyone who can decipher the secret formula left by Borri, as seen on the door of Palombara’s, will be able to pass through the Magical Doorway.
6)The puzzling formula consists of alchemical symbols and writings. They are as follows:
Above the door is a disc with the translated inscription of ‘Three are the marvels: God and man, mother and virgin, the one and three’ around the rim. Inside this rim is featured two triangles, overlapped, forming a hexagram or Solomon’s Seal. Then overlapping the Seal is a cross atop a circle with smaller circle inside. An inscription is engraved around this rim as well. It’s translation is ‘the center is in the triangle of the center.’
Underneath the disc is the engraved door frame.
First there is the invocation of the Holy Spirit. And under this is the translation, ‘The dragon of the Hesperides watches over the entrance of the magic garden, and without Hercules Jason would not have tasted the pleasure of Colchis.’
On the left, going down is seen:
The symbol for Saturn (Lead) with the inscription ‘when in your house black crows will give birth to white doves, then you will be called wise.’
The symbol for Mars (Iron) with the inscription ‘he who knows how to burn with water and to wash with fire, makes a heaven of earth and a precious earth of heaven.’
The symbol for Mercury (Mercury) with the inscription ‘as Latona will be whitened by mercury and by fire, Diana will come undressed.’
On the right, going down is seen:
The symbol for Jupiter (Tin) with the inscription, ‘the sphere’s diameter, the circle’s tau, the globe’s cross, bring no joy to the blind.’
The symbol for Venus (Copper) with the inscription, ‘if you make the earth fly upside down, with its wings, you will turn torrential waters into stone.’
The symbol for Antimony, the Sun (Gold) with the inscription, ‘our dead son lives, he returns from fire as a king, and rejoices over occult conjugation.’
Along the base is seen:
The symbol of Vitriol with the inscription, ‘it is an occult work of true wisdom to open the earth, so that it may generate salvation for the people.’
On the doorstep can be seen:
A palindrome inscribed with the meanings, ‘If you sit, you do not go’ and ‘If you do not sit, you go.’
And another inscription, now lost, said, ‘Passing by opening the door of the villa, lason obtained the rich fleece of Medea 1680.’ A reference to the Golden Fleece.
7) The meanings to the symbols and writings of the door are highly mystical and hidden in occult language. They are veiled to those considered unworthy to receive it’s wisdom, and only through dedication and study of the ancient ways can true understanding be realized. Alchemical works of the time often involved the transmutation of base metals (sometimes understood to be our lower selves) into more noble metals, with the objective of becoming Gold (sometimes understood to be our higher selves fused with the Creator). It is an ancient science, mixed with philosophy and occult traditions, that requires following a precise process. Because of its believed power to create the extraordinary, it is also highly guarded and kept from undeserving eyes. It is shared in symbols and allegorical phrases, as the door reveals.
8) The two statues seemingly guarding the Alchemical Door are a later addition. They were not part of Palombara’s design, but came from other ruins of Rome’s Quirinal Hill. The beasts are called Bes, who are the patrons of home, childbirth, and new life in Egyptian cults. The Bes came from an ancient Egyptian Temple in Rome dedicated to the gods Isis and Serapis. Many artifacts of this temple were relocated throughout the city. The Bes were positioned by the Alchemical Door in 1888.
9)The disc above the Alchemical Door can be recognized to be from Henricus Madathanus’ alchemical allegory, ‘Aureum Seculum Redivivum’ (The Golden Age Restored), written in 1621, and republished in 1677. The image’s meaning, of hexagram, with the cross over the circle, and inscriptions, remains veiled to those not part of the hidden mysteries.
10)The door’s disc is also linked to other mysteries of today. One of which is the mystery of Rennes le Chateau. The same symbols and inscriptions of the disc, was claimed to be used as a bookplate by the extraordinary priest, Berenger Sauniere (1852-1917), of Rennes le Chateau. Sauniere is rumored to have discovered a valuable treasure of some type in the later part of the 1800’s.
As a small village priest, he spent unexplicable amounts of money. The source of his wealth has never been discovered. He commissioned extensive renovations to his small church, built elaborate structures on his lands, traveled and entertained luxuriously. As his income as a poor priest could not have accounted for his large amount of expenditures, this only added to the mystery of a found treasure. It is believed his belongings, including the constructions he left behind, hold clues to the treasure. Might the bookplate, part of the Alchemical Door, hold a key to finding this treasure? Can discovering the secret bring you immense wealth?
As you can surmise, a visit to the Alchemical Door was fascinating. The history, and mystery, it holds, is frozen in stone. Who else will discover how to pass through this magical portal?
Best of luck with all that you seek! Always Treasure the Adventure!
this is interesting, i have never heard of the door before but i understand a lot of its meaning, i know a lot about the metaphysical sciences (the occult and alchemy) and i can tell you it has nothing to do with changing lead into gold, it is talking about transforming yourself, to over come the earth and its influences, to understand that we are not physical beings but spiritual being, to transform yourself and reconnect to your higher self and the creator, to over come the earth and transcend to the higher levels, dimensions and plains as Jesus did, that is what he came to show us how to do, and he did it by becoming a living example, we got stuck in the third dimension by accident and we must learn to remember who we really are, we are spiritual beings, (spirit not flesh), and when we understand this and take the appropriate steps we can over come the earth and all its influences and become a part of the energy that created all things including us,( in other words GOD), that’s what alchemy was really all about, not to transform lead into gold, its about transforming our self, lead represents the physical body, gold represents the spirit, i hope this was helpful to those who want to understand more about alchemy and the ancient mystery’s, God Bless you.