TEMPLE OF AUGUSTUS
Greco-Roman temple dedicated to the emperor and the goddess of Rome, transformed into a museum of Roman sculpture.
The Forum square once housed three Greco-Roman temples. Only that of the Emperor Augustus is still standing, and has regained all its architectural integrity. Dedicated to the emperor and goddess of Rome, this magnificent example of early imperial architecture was built between 2 BC and 4 AD. Facing the square, its façade bears a Latin inscription: OMAE ET AVGUSTO CAESARI DIVI FILIO PATRI PATRIAE, which translates as "To the goddess of Rome and the goddess of the world": oMAE ET AVGUSTO CAESARI DIVI FILIO PATRI PATRIAE, which translates as "To the goddess of Rome and Augustus, son of the divine Caesar, father of the fatherland". The monumental structure comprises a cella, an enclosed space and a propylaeum, which opens onto the forum. The tetrastyle is enclosed by four columns on the façade and one on each side. All are in marble, topped with Corinthian capitals. Above, the architrave is decorated with friezes and the triangular tympanum with a medallion.
Over the course of its history, the temple often changed function. Under the Byzantine Empire, it served as a church for Christians, then was abandoned. In the 19th century, it was transformed into a museum of Roman sculpture, until the bombings of the Second World War destroyed almost all of it. It was rebuilt between 1945 and 1947. Today, you can visit the interior (models of Roman buildings, sculptures, mosaics), which you'll find relatively cramped compared to the grandeur of the outer colonnade and the temple's monumental façade.
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