Its name has late medieval origins deriving from the bursarii who exacted the episcopal duties in the Middle Ages. In the Roman epoch it was called Porta Iovia from a temple entitled to Jupiter lying just outside the gate: its remains can still be seen in the Monumental Cemetery.
Built probably in the I century BC on the Via Postumia (its urban stretch coinciding with the Decumanus Maximu) and renovated in the I century AD, Porta Borsari was the main entrance gate to the town and its representative function was emphasized by reach ornamental decorations.
Porta Borsari was a rectangular building with a central courtyard and double passageways alongside the façades: only the external prospect in local white limestone remains.