Rome, Italy is home to the ancient Roman temple known as the Temple of Portunus. It was constructed next to the Forum Boarium, the ancient Roman cattle market connected to Hercules, which was next to the Pons Aemilius, the oldest stone bridge over the Tiber River and oldest river port of Rome. Given that there were multiple other temples in the vicinity in addition to Portunus, the exact dedication is still unknown, but it was most likely made in honor of the gateway deity. It is still more often known by this name despite being mistakenly labeled as the Renaissance Temple of Fortuna Virilis. Of all the Roman temples, this one is among the best preserved. It is the primary temple in the city devoted to Portunus, the deity of keys, doors, animals, and therefore granaries. The temple was transformed into a Christian church honoring Santa Maria Egyziaca throughout the Middle Ages. Up until the early 20th century, it was still a church. However, at that time, it was deconsecrated, all later alterations removed, and its classical aspect was restored as an archeological monument. As part of its repair, nearby buildings from the Renaissance and Middle Ages were demolished. Located in the historic Forum Boarium by the Tiber, the Ionic Temple had a commanding view of the Tiberine harbor during antiquity, where Portunus kept watch over cattle barges arriving in the city from Ostia. The temple was renovated between 120 and 80 BC, having been constructed in the third or fourth century BC. Its rectangular structure, which is still intact, is made up of a tetrastyle portico and cella, erected on a high podium that is accessed by stairs. Its pronaos portico, which has two columns deep and four Ionic columns across, is reminiscent of the Maison Carrée in Nîmes. The columns of the portico are free-standing, while the four columns at the back and the other five on the long sides are half-columns that are positioned against the walls of the cella [Information and Image Credit : Temple_of_Portunus, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Portunus ] [Image : Temple of Portunus in the Forum Boarium; Wikipedia-Image-Author : WikiRomaWiki] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_Portunus.jpg ] #History#Art#Architecture
.jpg "Monuments and Architecture")
Monuments and Architecture
.jpg)
.jpg)
