The arch commemorates three members of the Sergii family, specifically Lucius Sergius Lepidus, a tribune serving in the twenty-ninth legion that participated in the Battle of Actium and disbanded in 27 BC.

[1] The honorary triumphal arch, originally a city gate, was erected as a symbol of the victory at Actium.

As the main inscription proclaims, it was paid for by the wife of Lepidus, Salvia Postuma Sergia.

[2] In its original form, statues of the two elders flanked Lepidus on both sides on the top of the arch.

This small arch with pairs of crenelated Corinthian columns and winged victories in the spandrels, was built on the facade of a gate (Porta Aurea) in the walls, so the part, visible from the town-side, was decorated.