Moving through the Roman Forum to the southeast, one passes the Tempio del Divo Giulio (Temple of Caesar). Construction of this temple was begun after the Roman Senate deified Julius Caesar and was dedicated to the cult of a comet that appeared soon after Caesar was assassinated. This comet was considered to be the soul of Julius Caesar.
Close to the Tempio del Divo Giulio is the Tempio di Vesta (Temple of Vesta). Here, the Vestal Virgins tended the fires of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth.
The Tempio dei Castori (Temple of Castor and Pollux) has only three columns remaining. It was built to commemorate the Roman victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus in 495 BC. According to legend, Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda, appeared on the battlefield to aid the Romans.
Construction of the Tempio di Antonino e Faustina (Temple of Antonino and Faustina) was begun in 141 AD by the Emperor Antoninus Pius in honor of his deceased wife Faustina the Elder. It survives today because it was later converted to the Roman Catholic Church San Lorenzo in Miranda.
Tempio del Divo Giulio
SOURCE: Tempio del Divo Giulio (Rome, Lazio, Italy); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 13 August 2011.
Templo di Vesta
SOURCE: Tempio di Vesta (Rome, Lazio, Italy); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 13 August 2011.
Tempio dei Castori
SOURCE: Tempio dei Castori (Rome, Lazio, Italy); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 13 August 2011.
Tempio di Antonino e Faustina
SOURCE: Tempio di Antonino e Faustina (Rome, Lazio, Italy); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 13 August 2011.
Copyright © 2011 by Stephen J. Danko
Thanks … I am thoroughly enjoying the details of your Roman travelogue (and others you have posted before). The photographs are just beautiful. They must recall your memories so vividly.