I think one of the most magical and mysterious places in Rome is the Alchemical Door. It is also called Magical Door or Gate of Heaven and it can be found in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. It consists of a stone structure with esoteric engravings in it and it is the only remaining door of Villa Palombara. The Villa was built in the second half of the 17th century for Massimiliano Palombara, fond of Alchemy.

Alchemists thought that the philosopher’s stone was a magical amulet able to turn metals into gold, to create the elixir of long life and to give absolute wisdom. Over the last 4,000 years, many alchemists like Aristotle, Pythagoras and Paracelsus tried to find this magical stone.
Legend has it that a pilgrim named Stibium, probably the alchemist Francesco Giuseppe Borri, spent the night at the Villa, searching for a mysterious herb that would create gold. The following day he went away through a door, leaving behind him blades of gold and a piece of paper containing magical symbols and enigmas. Massimiliano Palombara tried in vain to decipher the symbols. He eventually decided to grave them on the door to attract people who could read them.

Clearly, to date no one has managed to decipher those symbols; but standing in front of the door is an exciting experience that makes you travel back in time.