Perhaps built while Augustus was still alive (in the early 1st century AD), this imposing temple was erected in the south part of the Forum square, aligned with the older Capitolium; the association between the cult of the emperor and the city’s traditional cults held an obvious symbolic and ideological meaning. The building’s foundations and part of the original architectural decoration in marble survive, including the rear pediment and the statue of flying Victory, which must have stood at the top of the roof: these marbles have now been mounted on a modern wall in the vicinity of the building. The temple façade probably hosted a platform from which orators addressed the people.
Reconstruction of the north and west façades of the temple
(R. Geremia, M.A. Ricciardi)
Modern wall with reconstruction of one of the pediments of the temple
Statue of winged Victory originally placed at the top of the temple pediment
Cult statue of the goddess Roma
Discovery of the architectural elements of the temple’s pediment
Repositioning of the architectural elements of the temple’s pediment on a modern wall
Reconstruction of the clipeus virtutis that adorned the temple’s pediment
Proposed reconstruction of the decoration of the temple’s pediment
(A. Gering)