Many of you may have walked by the archaeological site at Largo di Torre Argentina. All you could do was look down into the site because it was never accessible. Until now!
This small but important archaeological site dates to the Republican era. It comprises four temples and part of Pompey’s Theater. The latter is well known as the place where Julius Caesar met his bitter end on March 15, 44 B.C.E.
Buy your tickets in the little tower at the southeast corner of the site. Tickets are just five euros.
With ticket in hand, you go to the adjacent set of stairs, hand the person your ticket, and then go down the steps into the site, which is significantly below today’s street level. Walkways have been installed so visitors can walk within the archeological site.
There are drawings and descriptions of the various temples to help you understand what you are seeing.
At the north end is “Temple A,” which dates from the 3rd Century B.C.E. It was likely dedicated to the goddess Juturna, and was eventually converted into a church.
Next comes “Temple B,” a circular temple dedicated to the goddess Fortuna.
A giant head of this lovely goddess (apparently with pierced ears!) that was found here is now located in one of my favorite museums, Centrale Montemartini,
It’s particularly fascinating with respect to “Temple C,” the oldest of the four temples, to see how the temple areas were sometimes renovated. In this photo, you can see the recreated pavement, which went over a prior level where there had been another pavement and stairs leading to the temple. Apparently this may have been a result of an outbreak of fire.
Much of “Temple D” lies under today’s sidewalk and partially under Via Florida. But now that the archaeological site is open for exploration, you can walk under the sidewalk to see it.
A museum was created on one side (under the eastern sidewalk) to display some of the artifacts found during the excavation of the site.
It’s definitely worth your time to explore this small archaeological site. It’s a very interesting ancient site, is nearby, easily reached, and inexpensive to enjoy.
Plus… for animal lovers, there’s a special bonus, which I’ll describe in my next post.