In a corner of Piazza Vittorio in Rome, the Alchemical Door is kept, which according to legend holds the secret of the philosopher’s stone.
In the Esquilino neighborhood of Rome, one comes across the so-called “Alchemical Door” or Gate of Paradise, symbol of Western alchemy and the only survivor among the five gates of Villa Palombara, this door is considered the greatest testimony of the European magic-alchemical tradition and it is said that it holds the secret of the philosopher’s stone.
It is called many things: Magic Door, Hermetic Door, or Door of Heavens, and it is a stone structure with different esoteric and initiatory inscriptions and is the only remaining part of the ancient Villa Palombara built in the second half of the 1600s by the Marchese di Pietraforte, Massimiliano Palombara (1614-1680), passionate about esotericism and alchemy and frequent visitor to the court of Christina of Sweden.
A symbol of Rome between history and mystery
The monument originally was one of the 5 external entrances of the villa, which the marquis had engraved with alchemical symbols to attract the attention of those who could decipher its secrets. Currently, the portal is walled and surrounded by a fence and has two sets of three planetary symbols, each associated with a metal and a cryptic motto. At the top, however, there is a design with two overlapping triangles that form a Star of David joined to other symbols.
At the base is a palindrome word Si Sedes Non Is (if you sit, you do not go), which instead transforms into Si Non Sedes Is (if you do not sit, you go). It is said that the presence of Queen Christina of Sweden was important in the creation of the door, a controversial and scandalous figure in 1600s Rome.
Forced to abdicate the throne due to her conversion to Catholicism, she spent her years of exile until her death in Rome, where she founded the Academy of Arcadia and surrounded herself with intellectuals and scientists.
Among these illustrious figures was the esoteric physician Giuseppe Francesco Borri, who was a guest at the villa for a few years during a period of freedom from imprisonment in Castel Sant’Angelo.
Tradition also points to Borri as the protagonist of the legendary version of the door’s story, narrated in 1802 by Francesco Girolamo Cancellieri.
It is also said that the inscriptions were inspired by a pilgrim found one morning in the garden of the villa while looking for a plant capable of producing gold.
Realizing his alchemical skills, the marquis of Palombara invited him to his laboratory.
The following morning, however, the pilgrim had disappeared, leaving behind pure gold and notes full of those hermetic symbols that were then carved into the villa.
The current position of the Alchemical Door is not its original position, as Villa Palombara was located a little further on, between Via Gregoriana (today Merulana) and the straight line of Via Felice, the road wanted by Sixtus V that connects Santa Croce in Gerusalemme with Trinità dei Monti.