• As part of the rebuilding project after the fire, Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) asked the main architect Luigi Poletti to make a portico. It was thus named after Gregory

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• The 12 columns used in the design were part of the original basilica before the fire. One of the columns has an inscription from the original consecration in 390 by Pope Siricius

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• Poletti also designed the campanile which was based on a Roman tomb found in France. It is commonly referred to as a lighthouse