Four temples from ancient Rome stand in the middle of one of the busiest crossroads in the modern city
From
FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press
Jun 19, 2023 2:51pm ET
• 4 min reading
ROME – Four temples from ancient Rome, dating back to the 3rd century BC. Dating back to around 1000 BC, stand in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in the modern city.
But until Monday, practically the only ones who could get a close look at the temples were the cats that roamed the so-called “Sacred Area” on the outskirts of where Julius Caesar was assassinated.
Thanks to funding from luxury jeweler Bulgari, the group of temples is now open to the public.
For decades, curious people had to look down from the busy sidewalks at Largo Argentina (Argentina Square) to admire the temples below. This is because the city was built layer by layer over the centuries to a height of several meters above the area where Caesar developed his political strategies and later in 44 BC. was fatally stabbed
Behind two of the temples are a foundation and part of a wall that archaeologists believe formed part of the Curia of Pompey, a large rectangular hall that temporarily housed the Roman Senate after Caesar’s assassination.
What prompts archaeologists to refer to the ruins as the Curia of Pompey? “We know for sure because latrines were found on the sides of Pompey’s curia and ancient texts mentioned the latrines,” said Claudio Parisi Presicce, an archaeologist and Rome’s top cultural heritage official.
The temples were created during the demolition of medieval buildings in the late 1920s, as part of dictator Benito Mussolini’s campaign to reshape the cityscape. A tower on one edge of Largo Argentina once towered over a medieval palace.
The temples are labeled A, B, C and D and were probably dedicated to female deities. One of the temples, reached by an imposing staircase and circular in shape with six surviving columns, is said to have been built in honor of Fortuna, a goddess of chance associated with fertility.
Taken together, the temples represent “one of the best-preserved remains of the Roman Republic,” Parisi Presicce said after Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri cut a ceremonial ribbon Monday afternoon. On display in a corridor near the temples is a black and white photograph showing Mussolini cutting the ribbon in 1929 after the excavated ruins were put on display.
Also on display are the travertine cobblestones laid by Emperor Domitian after a fire in AD 80 devastated much of Rome, including the Sacred Area.
On display are some of the artifacts found during excavations over the past century. Below is a colossal stone head of one of the deities worshiped in the temples, chinless and lower lipless. Another is a stone fragment of a winged angel of victory.
In recent decades, a colony of cats has thrived among the ruins. Cats sat undisturbed and cat lovers were allowed to feed them. On Monday, a black-and-white cat lay lazily on its back on the stone stump of a once-magnificent pillar.
Bulgari helped fund the construction of the sidewalks and night lights. A relief for tourists who step gingerly over the uneven ancient cobblestones of the Roman Forum. The wooden walkways of the Sacred Area are wheelchair and stroller accessible. An elevator platform is available for those who cannot manage the stairs down from the sidewalk.
The attraction is open every day except Mondays and some major holidays. The general admission price is 5 euros ($5.50).
Curiously, the square does not owe its name to the South American country, but to the Latin name of Strasbourg in France, which in the 15th century was the residence of a German cardinal who lived nearby and served as master of ceremonies for popes including Alexander VI, the Borgia Pope.