The monumental complex of ancient Roman temples on Plaza Argentina, the place where legend has it that Julius Caesar was assassinated, is now open to the public for the first time since its discovery at the beginning of the last century.
“It was possible to open a space that illustrates the whole history of the place, which is not limited to ancient history, but has seen successive phases of destruction and reconstruction over the centuries,” explains Claudio Parisi, archaeologist and Rome’s chief official for culture, out. heritage. .
This is an area with more than two thousand years of history: over the centuries, the city was built layer by layer at levels several meters above the area where Caesar planned his political strategies and was later built in 44 BC. Fatally stabbed
After years of work, it will now be possible to get close to the doors of some temples whose origins date back to the 4th century BC, through a route fully accessible to people with reduced mobility and which will include three-dimensional representations of some of the exposed elements, which can be played by the blind.
The complex also consists of two exhibition rooms, which display sarcophagi, architectural decorations, inscriptions and two monumental heads of the temples’ deities found in excavations carried out in the area.
The four temples were discovered almost a century ago, during the demolition of some ancient buildings that brought to light one of the most important and oldest archaeological sites in Rome.
Several fires and renovations changed the structure until it was buried under the streets of the ‘eternal city’ for centuries.
Despite the importance of this sacred space, it is still unclear which gods each temple was dedicated to.
Some of the most established hypotheses suggest that these spaces were dedicated to the goddess Feronia, who ruled the forests, to the nymph Juturna, the minor deity of water and springs, to the Lares Permarini, who protected the Romans during their travels, and to the goddess Fortuna, in one of her many forms.
The renovation works were financed by Bulgari, an Italian luxury jeweller, with money left over from the restoration of Rome’s famous Spanish Steps, which took several years.
The facility is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday and tickets must be purchased in advance.
Source: DN
