Temple of Romulus - Roma, Lazio
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denben
N 41° 53.509 E 012° 29.230
33T E 291533 N 4640818
The Temple of Romulus is a Roman monument located along the Via Sacra, at the south-east entrance of the Roman Forum.
Waymark Code: WM156MC
Location: Lazio, Italy
Date Posted: 10/26/2021
Views: 4
The building was the entrance to the imperial complex of the Temple of Peace from the Via Sacra, between the Arch of Titus and the square of the Roman Forum: the different orientation of the imperial complex with respect to the street was solved by means of its circular plan.
At the beginning of the 4th century the Temple of Peace complex was already abandoned and the vestibule was reused by Massenzio, who dedicated it perhaps in 309 AD as a temple in honor of his son Valerio Romolo, who died at a young age and was later deified. The richly decorated portal dates back to that time, framed by two wings of the wall that formed an exedra facing the street, decorated with architectural elements of reuse. After the defeat of Massenzio in the battle of Ponte Milvio in 312, by Constantin, he had to change his function, as some inscriptions seem to show, visible up to XVI century inside the building.
Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, and his daughter Amalasunta donated a hall of the Temple of Peace (probably the library) to Pope Felix IV in 527, which was transformed into the basilica dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian. On that occasion it was united with the temple of Romulus and a door was opened between the two complexes. The temple then became the vestibule of the church.
The temple of Romulus was built with bricks and covered with marble slabs, removed during the Middle Ages. The central body is cylindrical in shape, crowned by a partially remodeled dome crowned by a lantern built in modern times. The interior of the dome shows a painting of a man with open arms (probably Valerio Romolo) surrounded by five putti.
Source: Wikipedia (
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