Temple of Portunus - Roma, Italy - Ancient Roman Civilization on Waymarking.com

The Temple of Portunus (Italian: Tempio di Portuno) or Temple of Fortuna Virilis ("manly fortune") is a Roman temple in Rome, Italy, one of the best preserved of all Roman temples. Its dedication remains unclear, as ancient sources mention several temples in this area of Rome, without saying enough to make it clear which this is. It was called the Temple of Fortuna Virilis from the Renaissance, and remains better known by this name. If dedicated to Portunus, the god of keys, doors and livestock, and so granaries, it is the main temple dedicated to the god in the city.

It is in the Ionic order and located by the ancient Forum Boarium by the Tiber, during Antiquity the site overlooked the Port Tiberinus at a sharp bend in the river; from here, Portunus watched over cattle barges as they entered the city from Ostia.

The temple was originally built in the 3rd or 4th century BCE but was rebuilt between 120–80 BCE, the rectangular building consists of a tetrastyle portico and cella, raised on a high podium reached by a flight of steps, which it retains. Like the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, it has a pronaos portico of four Ionic columns across and two columns deep. The columns of the portico are free-standing, while the remaining five columns on the long sides and the four columns at the rear are half-columns engaged along the walls of the cella. This form is sometimes called pseudoperipteral, as distinct from a true peripteral temple like the Parthenon entirely surrounded by free-standing columns. The Ionic capitals are of the original form, different in the frontal and side views, except in the volutes at the corners, which project at 45°, a common Roman detail. It is built of tuff and travertine with a stucco surface.

If still in use by the 4th-century, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire. The temple owes its state of preservation to its being converted for use as a church in 872 and rededicated to Santa Maria Egyziaca (Saint Mary of Egypt). Its Ionic order has been much admired, drawn and engraved and copied since the 16th century. The original coating of stucco over its tufa and travertine construction has been lost.

The pope granted the Armenians the church of Santa Maria Egiziaca after suppressing the parish (which was taken over by Santa Maria in Cosmedin). A hospice for Armenian pilgrims run by Armenian monks was built next door. The work was undertaken in 1571.

The 18th century façade was pulled off during the French occupation, in order to reveal the front columns of the temple again.

In 1921 the entire complex was sequestered by the government, as a result of lobbying by the archaeological establishment, and the monks moved out. The church was deconsecrated and converted back into a temple by removing the blocking between the front columns, re-building the entrance wall to the cella and also the back wall. This work was supervised by the notorious "restorer" Antonio Muñoz, who at least had the sense to preserve the 9th century fresco fragments found when the interior was gutted. He completed the work in 1925.

Sources: Wikipedia (visit link) and (visit link)

Most Relevant Historical Period: Roman Empire > 27 B.C. Admission Fee: None Opening days/times: 24/7 Web Site: [Web Link] Condition: Completely intact or reconstructed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/15/2014 Becktracker visited it