According to legend, handed down in 1802 by scholar Francis and Jerome Clerks, a pilgrim stibeum was hosted in the villa for a night. Il "pellegrino", identificabile con l'alchimista Francesco Giustiniani Bono , dimorò per una notte nei giardini della villa alla ricerca di una misteriosa erba capace di produrre l' oro , il mattino seguente fu visto scomparire per sempre attraverso la porta, ma lasciò dietro alcune pagliuzze d'oro frutto di una riuscita trasmutazione alchemica, e una misteriosa carta piena di enigmi e simboli magici che doveva contenere il segreto della pietra filosofale . The "pilgrim", identified with the alchemist Francis Giustiniani Bono, stayed for a night in the gardens of the villa in search of a mysterious grass capable of producing the 'gold, the following morning was seen disappearing forever through the door, but left behind pagliuzze some gold fruit of a successful alchemical transmutation, and a mysterious paper full of riddles and symbols that would contain magical secret of the Philosopher's Stone.

By tradition, on a morning in 1657, a stranger is caught in Palombara’s garden gathering herbs; after having been brought to the Marquis by the servants, he declared himself to be an alchemist, to have knowledge of the Marquis’ alchemical researches and to be able to show him the feasibility of transmutational work, without any request or reward, and to be interested in knowing what were Palombara’s methods and researches.
It is only obvious that the latter would look forward to leading the mysterious stranger into his alchemical laboratory.
The unknown stranger, after having performed various operations under Palombara’s eyes, asked of the Marquis hospitality for the night in a room near the laboratory, to be able to watch his own work, and then he asked to the Marquis to give him the keys to the laboratory, promising that, after having completed his work, he would explain all to the Marquis, but that, for the moment, he would need solitude and peace.
Of course it was a thrilled and impatient Palombara that knocked, early in the morning, at the closed laboratory’s door, and then at the pilgrim’s room. But, during the night, the latter had sneaked away through a window, leaving in the adjoining laboratory only an upside down crucible and, on the floor, a streak of gold, and a sheaf of papers covered with notes and hermetic symbols on the Great Work, which Palombara ordered to be carved in several places in his mansion, and, mostly, on the very famous hermetic door, the only surviving feature of the architectural beauties of Villa Palombara, a famous and controversial Italian hermetic monument.
Of course, by tradition, the mysterious alchemist was Borri, and the complex symbologies of the hermetic door are inspired by his papers.

A legend circulates saying that the door was raised as a commemoration of a successfull transmutation that took place in Christina’s chambers. This version of events was first told in 1804 in an Italian description of Rome in which it is said that northern youth, a "giovane ultramontane," came to Christina’s court and produced some scraps of gold, but that he then disappeared. As we have seen Christina actually owns Palombara’s alchemical manuscript La Bugia and other verse by him. She also accorded him functions in her court and supported his family after his death. Christina was thus Palombara’s patron and this extended to his alchemical poetry

La Porta Alchemica, also called Magic Gate or Door Hermetic or Door of Heaven, is a monument built between 1655 and 1680 by Maximilian Palombara Marquis of Pietraforte (1614 - 1680) in his residence, Palombara villa, located in the countryside east of Rome on the Esquiline hill in the position corresponding to today almost Piazza Vittorio, where today has been placed. La Porta Alchemica è l'unica sopravvissuta delle cinque porte di villa Palombara, sull'arco della porta perduta sul lato opposto vi era un iscrizione che permette di datarla al 1680 , inoltre vi erano altre quattro iscrizioni perdute sui muri della palazzina all'interno della villa. Alchemica Gateway is the only survivor of the five gates of the villa Palombara, lost over port on the opposite side there was an inscription which allows dated to 1680, there were also four other lost inscriptions on the walls of the building within the Villa.

Today you can see the port in the north Alchemica gardens in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. La sua posizione originaria si trovava a circa cinquanta metri verso l'incrocio di via Carlo Alberto con via di San Vito, lungo un muro perimetrale che fronteggiava Strada Felice, con villa Palombara situata tra le antiche strade Felice e strada Gregoriana (l'attuale via Merulana). His original position was approximately fifty metres to the intersection of Via Carlo Alberto via San Vito, along a perimeter wall that faced Felice Road, Palombara villa located between the ancient roads and road Gregorian Felice (the current way Merulana). La strada Felice era un rettilineo fatto costruire da papa Sisto V nel 1588 , partiva da Trinità dei Monti passava per Santa Maria Maggiore e proseguiva fino a piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. The road was a straight Felice built by Pope Sixtus V in 1588, started by Spanish Steps passed through Santa Maria Maggiore and continued until Piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
Nel 1873 la porta magica fu smontata e ricostruita nel 1888 all'interno dei giardini di piazza Vittorio, su un vecchio muro perimetrale della chiesa di S. In 1873 the magic door was dismantled and rebuilt in 1888 in the gardens of Piazza Vittorio, on an old wall of the church of St. Eusebio, e accanto furono aggiunte due statue del dio Bes , che si trovavano in origine nei giardini del Palazzo del Quirinale . Eusebio, and next were added two statues of the god Bes, who were originally in the gardens of Palazzo del Quirinale.

Bes (also spelt as Bisu) was an Egyptian deity worshipped in the later periods of dynastic history as a protector of households and in particular mothers and children. In time he would be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad. While past studies identified Bes as a Middle Kingdom import from Nubia, some more recent research believes him to be an Egyptian native. Mentions of Bes can be traced to the southern lands of the Old Kingdom; however his cult did not become widespread until well into the New Kingdom.
His name appears to be connected to a Nubian word for "cat" (besa) which literally means "protector",