Largo di Torre Argentina
Region | Lazio |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°53′43″N 12°28′37″E / 41.89528°N 12.47694°E |
Type | sanctuary |
History | |
Founded | 4th century BC – 1st century AD |
Periods | Roman Republic, Roman Empire |
Cultures | Ancient Rome |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | yes |
Public access | yes |
Website | AREA SACRA DI LARGO ARGENTINA |
Largo di Torre Argentina (Argentina Tower Square) is a large open space in
The name of the square comes from the Torre Argentina (Argentina Tower), which takes its name from the city of
Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Curia of Pompey, and the spot where he is believed to have been assassinated is in the square.[2]
After
In 2019, Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi announced that walkways would be installed in the site allowing the general public to tour the ruins for the first time.[3]
Roman temples
The four temples, originally designated by the letters A, B, C, and D, front onto a paved street, which was reconstructed in the imperial era, after the fire of AD 80. The area was delineated to the North by the Hecatostylum (one-hundred columns porch) and the Baths of Agrippa, and to the South by the buildings related to the Circus Flaminius, to the East by the great porched square of Porticus Minucia Frumentaria, and to the West by the Theatre of Pompey.[4][5]
Temple A was built in the 3rd century BC, and is probably the Temple of of which is still present.
Temple B, a circular temple (
Temple C is the most ancient of the four, dating back to 4th or 3rd century BC, and was probably devoted to
Temple D is the largest of the four, dates back to the 2nd century BC with Late Republican restorations, and was devoted to
-
Temple A
-
Temple B
-
Temple C
18th century opera house
The Teatro Argentina is an 18th-century opera house and theatre located in the square. The premieres of many notable operas took place there. They include Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville in 1816[14] and Giuseppe Verdi's I due Foscari in 1844[15] and La battaglia di Legnano in 1849.[16]
Cat shelter
The Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary is located in Temple D of the Largo di Torre Argentina. The cat shelter was founded in 1993 and offers sterilization and adoption programs that house an estimated 350 cats. The shelter operates as a no-kill shelter under Law no. 281, enacted by the Italian Parliament in 1991. These laws introduced: (i) the cats’ rights to live free and safe, (ii) institutionalization of cat caretakers. The shelter remains active, despite archaeologists' protests to dismantle the shelter in favor of protecting the excavation.[17][18][19]
See also
References
- ^ Giuseppe Marchetti Longhi (1960). L'area sacra del Largo argentina. Istituto poligrafico dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato.
- ISBN 978-0-520-95780-0.
- ^ Gregorio Borgia (2019-02-18). "Ancient site linked to Caesar's murder to open to public". santamariatimes.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Giuseppe Marchetti Longhi (1930). L'"area sacra" ed i templi repubblicani del largo Argentina. Libreria di scienze e lettere.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-4300-6.
- ^ This identification is preferred over the one as Temple of Iuno Curritis, because Ovid (Fasti I) says: "Te quoque lux eadem Turni soror aede recepit/Hic, ubi Virginea Campus obitur aqua", thus posing the temple of Juturna near the Aqua Virgo, which ended at the Baths of Agrippa.
- ^ G. Marchetti-Longhi, "Gli scavi del Largo Argentina: II Tempio B," BullCom 76 (1956- 58): 45-118
- ^ Julius Caesar's assassination site reopens: Largo Argentina 4 Republican Temples!, retrieved 2023-09-04
- ^ Livy XL.52.4; Macrobius I.10.10; Fasti Praenestini ad XI Kal. Ian., CIL I2 pp238, 338; Fast. Ant. ap. NS 1921, 120; HJ 487; Gilb. III.149; Rosch. II.1870‑1871; WR 170.
- ^ Livy loc. cit.; cf. Baehrens, Frag. poet. Rom. 54‑55.
- ^ Fast. p316 Praen.
- ^ AR 1909, 76, p1; RE XII.812.
- ^ From the Lacus Curtius website)Lares Permarini
- ^ "Teatro Argentina | Rome, Italy Entertainment".
- ^ "News".
- ^ "News".
- ^ "Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary | Rome for Visitors".
- ^ "A little bit of history". Rome Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary (Official Site). Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- S2CID 64300965.
External links
- Media related to Largo di Torre Argentina at Wikimedia Commons
- Largo di Torre Argentina travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Area Sacra di Largo Argentina
- Virtual reconstruction in 3D of Largo di Torre Argentina in Ancient Rome
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088.
Preceded by House of the Vestals |
Landmarks of Rome Largo di Torre Argentina |
Succeeded by Lupercal |