2200 year old Roman temple, Hercules Olivarius

May 9, 2017 / get back, laurettadimmick

There’s a beautiful, small, round Roman temple not far from the banks of the Tiber River that seems to get no love.

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But, I love it! I took a long walk today along the Rome side of the Tiber, under the beautiful plane trees. The street looks like this:

The temple I love is the Temple of Hercules the Victor (Italian: Tempio di Ercole Vincitore). It dates to the later 2nd century BC, consisting of a circular cella within a concentric ring of twenty Corinthian columns. These elements supported an architrave, which has disappeared.

The original wall of the cella, built of travertine and marble blocks. The temple is the earliest surviving marble building in Rome.