The Tower of Porta Aquileia was part of the city's fifth walled circuit, which began around the middle of the 14th century and was completed a little over a century later; with Porta Villalta, it is the only surviving one of the thirteen gates that connected the city with the most important road and trade routes. It housed the dwelling of the Keeper, who had the task of controlling the transit of people and goods and the obligation of witnessing the closing and opening of the gate.

By 1852, the tower was deemed unserviceable and abandoned. After the first restoration works in 1948 and 1960, a more complex intervention was planned in the 1990s to restore the building's full functionality and allow it to be used again, which culminated in the 1998 restoration.