| Temple of Romulus (picture by Peter Watts) |  |
Temple of Romulus
Temple of Romulus
It has to be said that one of the most amazing things about the Temple of Romulus (Tempio di Romolo) in the Roman Forum is the front door. It is green and made of bronze. The fact is that the door is about 1700 years old and survived the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths and numerous other disasters intact.The Temple of Romulus stands on the Sacra Via in the Roman Forum next to the Temple of Antonius and Faustina (now the chruch of S Lorenzo in Miranda), and was built in the early 4C. Originally it was thought that this was dedicated to Emperor Romulus who died in 307. Recently it has also been suggested that the building may have been associated with the Temple of Jupiter or the audience hall of a city prefect.
The building of the Temple of Romulus was started by Maxentius and completed by Constantine. Part of the reason this temple has survived in such good condition is that in the Middle Ages it was incorporated into the atrium of the church of St. Cosma and St. Damiano. Inside this church is a 6C mosaic showing Jesus Christ surrounded by several saints at his second coming. The rest of the church has taken over what used to be the Forum Pacis built by Emperor Nerva.
The Sacra Via leads off left past the Temple of Antonius and Faustina (now the church of S Lorenzo). It then continues past the Cura, where the senate use to meet, before passing under the Arch of Septimus Severus, just visible in this image. Beyond that lie the ruins of the Temple of Saturn. Further up the Sacra Via to the right of the Temple of Romulus is the Arch of Titus. From here the Sacra Via descends a hill to the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine.
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