<p>This monumental arch stood at the top of the *Clivus Capitolinus. It was erected by P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus in 190 B.C. and is mentioned only by Livy: <i>in Capitolio adversus viam qua in Capitolium escenditur</i> (‘on the Capitolium facing the road by which one ascends to the Capitolium’: 37.3.7, referring to it only as a <i>fornix</i>). The phrase <i>adversus viam</i> is taken by some to mean that the arch flanked or faced the road (Richardson, De Maria), and by others to mean that it spanned the road (Coarelli, Reusser, Spano). Either reading may be supported by the preposition <i>adversus</i> (<i>OLD</i> 57, s.v. <i>aduersus</i>⁴, 1: “opposite (to), facing, over against; in front of”). It is most likely that the arch spanned the road, not as a free-standing arch, but flanked on both sides by the <i>temenos</i> wall of the *Area Capitolina (Rodríguez Almeida).</p>