View Article: Area Sacra di Largo Argentina

	Area Sacra di Largo Argentina
	written by Angela Hitt / 07.12.2004

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Location

From the Campo do Fiori head down Via Giubbonari until you hit Via Arenula (the street with the trams). Cross the street and turn left. Continue down Via Arenula to the next block. In front of you should be some ruins, this is Area Sacra di Largo Argentina.

Description

From the railing around the ruins, four temples are visible. According to the Blue Guide "it is not know with certainty to whom the temples were dedicated," but the signs at the actual site list the deities who were most likely worshiped at each particular site. A detailed map in a little piazza on the side opposite Via Arenula clearly outlines the location of each temple.

Temple A was probably dedicated to Giuturna (Although I've done a little research, I have not been able to find out who Giuturna was). Temple B is circular and dedicated to the Fortune of the Present Day. At Position 1 on the map, behind Temple B, are the remains of the central exedra of Pompei's portico. During Julius Caesar's time it was used as a Senate house. Temple C is dedicated to Feronia, the Harvest Goddess. Temple D, know as the Temple of the Lari Permarini, the patron saint of sailors, is the largest. A part of it still remains under Via Florida.

You will also notice many cats making the ruins their home. A voluntary association looks after them. A sign on one of the railings asks you not to feed them, but solicits donations assist in their care.

The best time to visit is probably early evening before dusk because there are fewer tourists, the shops in the piazza are closing for the night, and the piazza is relatively peaceful. There are also more cats napping on the grass or cement steps. At night the the large columns are well lit and, like the forum, it is easier to imagine what these great buildings might have looked like.

Historical Infomation about Area Sacra di Largo Argentina : This is the best site I've found with historical information about Area Sacra di Largo Argentina

Story of Discovery

Many of our morning walks took us right by this location. Shawn didn't mention much about the site. I saw the ruins and the numerous cats and wanted to know more. I wandered there one free afternoon, read the signs, and looked it up in my Blue Guide to learn more about it when I got to the apartment. I was surprised to find out the cats were intentionally allowed to stay there and that the cat colony had only been there since 1994.

Element of Interest

Only in Rome would you find ruins of ancient temples used as a stray animal shelter. It's an efficient use of this lesser know historical site. There were also less tourists and annoying tour guides during the day, making it a lot more conducive to sitting and contemplating the age and history than some place like the Forum and the Colosseum.

According to the sign at the site, the central exedra is the location where Julius Caesar was assassinated. I was surprised the Blue Guide mentioned it as practically a side note and none of the other sources I've looked at have called it the definite place he was murdered.

Image

Temple A

Possible the Temple of Giuturna

Temple B

Temple of Fortune of the Present Day

Temple C

Temple of Feronia

Temples C and D

ree pictures isolate the three most visible temples. From these images you get a feeling of the surrounding neighborhood. It's hard to really understand the scale and placement of the ruins without looking at the site as a whole. I couldn't find any isolated images of Temple D because its still partially under Via Florida.

If you look closely at the far right middle of the Temple B image you can see a cat. The cats seem to prefer the grassy area around the ruins to the ruins themselves.

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