Photos

The Porta Nigra, an ancient Roman gate preserved in the city of Trier, known as Rome of the North, is an imposing structure and a fantastic place. As I was framing the shot, a couple walked through the gate and the man looked up and spotted me. I was happy to get the human element in such a setting.

Porta Nigra, named so because of its darkened walls, was one of the four gates of the Roman city of Augusta Treverorum. During the Middle Ages, the structure was converted into a monastery church, which spared it from destruction. In 1804, while visiting the city, Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the Porta Nigra to be converted back to its original Roman form. In 1986, the Porta Nigra, the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings.