Four temples beside Pompey’s Senate hall
Look below Rome’s modern streets to find four Republican temples and the remains of the Curia of Pompey, where senators assassinated Julius Caesar on the Ides of March.
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Rome, Italy
INTRODUCTION
From the railings of Largo di Torre Argentina, the first thing to pick out is a ring of columns. Beside it, the steps and platforms of rectangular temples sit several metres below the modern street. The four temples date from the Roman Republic, but the paving that ties them together belongs to a later rebuilding.
Behind the round temple and its neighbour is a less conspicuous structure. The tuff platform belonged to the Curia of Pompey, where senators assembled on the day Julius Caesar was killed. The surviving blocks make more sense once you place the meeting hall within Pompey’s much larger theatre complex.
Start above the excavation to get your bearings, then follow the walkway to see the masonry at closer range. For the surrounding city, see our Rome history and travel guide.
KEY HISTORICAL MOMENT
On the Ides of March, Julius Caesar attended a Senate meeting in the Curia of Pompey. A group of conspirators that included Marcus Brutus and Cassius stabbed him inside the hall. Caesar had recently been made dictator for life. After his death, Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate, and the contest over Rome’s government returned to the battlefield.
ORIGINS
The temples rose in the Campus Martius, the low ground outside the early centre of Rome. Temple C, the oldest, dates from around the turn of the fourth to the third century BCE. Its dedication is often linked to Feronia, an Italic goddess. The attribution remains provisional.
Temple A followed around the middle of the third century BCE. It is usually associated with Juturna, a deity connected with springs and water. Both shrines were rebuilt over time. The letters used today let archaeologists refer to the buildings without settling the question of their ancient names.
Temple D was added in the early second century BCE. Towards the end of that century, the circular Temple B occupied the gap between A and C. Building the temples at different times meant that their bases sat at different heights. Raising and repaving the ground gradually brought them into a single precinct.
CAESAR AND POMPEY’S CURIA
Pompey built his theatre complex west of the temples in the mid-first century BCE. Behind the stage lay a large portico, and a meeting hall at its far end extended towards the sacred area. The theatre, portico and Curia were parts of one project, with room for public entertainment and for gatherings of senators.
By 44 BCE, Pompey had been dead for several years. Caesar had defeated him in civil war, but the buildings still carried his name. The Senate’s meeting in Pompey’s hall brought Caesar into a space closely associated with his former rival.
Suetonius says that Tillius Cimber approached Caesar with a petition. Other conspirators closed in, and the approach became an attack. Plutarch reports a version in which Caesar fell against the pedestal of Pompey’s statue. Both authors wrote long after the event, and details such as Caesar’s final words differ across the ancient accounts.
The Curia’s surviving base helps locate the meeting hall in the city. The course of the attack inside it is known through literary accounts. Reading those accounts alongside the remains gives the assassination a setting while leaving room for uncertainty about individual details.
ACROSS CENTURIES
A fire in 80 CE damaged much of the Campus Martius, including the precinct. Under Domitian, workers levelled debris, laid a new surface in travertine and rebuilt parts of the temples and portico. Some of that paving is still visible. It belongs to the imperial phase of a site whose shrines began in the Republic.
By the Middle Ages, a church had been built into Temple A. It was dedicated to Saint Nicholas in 1132. A later church occupied the same ground. The medieval apse and surviving floor fragments show how later builders used the older sanctuary as part of a new place of worship.
Demolition for redevelopment exposed the temples in the late 1920s. The Fascist authorities preserved the excavated precinct and inaugurated it in 1929, after removing much of the later neighbourhood. In 2023 a public walkway opened at the archaeological level, allowing visitors to approach ruins long viewed chiefly from the street.
INTERESTING FACTS
Temple B is commonly identified with the shrine of Fortuna Huiusce Diei, or Fortune of This Day. The proposed identification links it to Quintus Lutatius Catulus and the Roman victory over the Cimbri at Vercellae in 101 BCE. A dedication to Fortune made a particular day of military success the subject of a lasting cult.
A colossal marble head, arm and foot found near Temple B are displayed at Centrale Montemartini. They probably belonged to the temple’s cult image. It was an acrolith, a statue whose exposed parts were carved in stone and attached to a body made of other materials. The surviving pieces give a sense of its scale.
The medieval tower beside the archaeological area is the Torre del Papito. The name Argentina comes from Argentoratum, the Latin name for Strasbourg, through Johannes Burckardt, a papal master of ceremonies who came from the Strasbourg area. The tower that catches the eye today and the name of the square therefore tell different stories.
Temple D was the largest of the four, yet much of it lies beneath Via Florida. Suggested dedications include the Lares Permarini, protectors associated with seafaring, and the Nymphs. Its partial exposure is a reminder that the modern road sets the limits of the excavation here. The largest ancient plan is among the hardest to see.
WHAT TO SEE & DO
Begin at the street railings along Via di San Nicola de’ Cesarini. Use the curved colonnade of Temple B to orient yourself. The other temples have rectangular footprints, and the difference in shape is especially clear from above.
Look towards Via Florida to see how the southern end runs into the edge of the modern street. This high view makes it easier to keep track of the buildings once you descend.
Enter from Via di San Nicola de’ Cesarini and follow the marked walkway. Compare the high round base of Temple B with the steps and rectangular podium of Temple C beside it. Look also for the flat travertine slabs in the open space before the temples.
The walkway lets you judge the height of the platforms from closer to their bases. At Temple A, look for the church remains within the ancient outline. The curve of the medieval apse and fragments of patterned flooring belong to that later use.
From the walkway, use the site panels to identify the large tuff base behind Temples B and C. This is the visible remnant associated with the Curia of Pompey. The meeting hall stood at the end of the portico extending eastwards from the theatre.
Look at the base in relation to the temples. Its position makes it possible to place the Senate meeting beside the sacred precinct, even though the hall’s interior is gone.
Make time for the displays below Via di San Nicola de’ Cesarini and at the portico of the Torre del Papito. The exhibition brings together finds such as pieces of inscriptions, architectural decoration and fragments of sculpture recovered in the area.
These objects give you a different scale from the platforms outside. A carved fragment shows the detail that could disappear from view when a building survives chiefly at foundation level.
WHY VISIT?
This is a good stop if you want to see how much of Republican Rome lay beyond the Forum. In a small area, the foundations show where public worship and a Senate meeting could take place on neighbouring ground. The difference between the view from the railings and the view from the walkway makes the site especially rewarding.
Pair it with the Roman Forum to follow what happened next. Caesar was killed in Pompey’s complex, while his cremation took place in the Forum, where a temple to the deified Caesar was later dedicated.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The archaeological area lies between the Pantheon and the Jewish Quarter. The visitor entrance is on Via di San Nicola de’ Cesarini, opposite number 10. The ticket office and bookshop are at the Torre del Papito on Piazza dei Calcarari.
Use ATAC’s maps to plan a bus or tram journey towards the square. If you are already at the Pantheon, the site is a short walk south through the historic centre.
You can see much of the site free from the pavement. The lower walkway and exhibition spaces are part of the ticketed visit. Entry is capacity controlled. The city lists online purchase and an on-site ticket office. Check the official visitor information for current prices, concessions and group arrangements.
The archaeological area generally opens Tuesday to Sunday, with a shorter winter schedule. Confirm closing times and last entry for your date. Allow about 45 minutes for the ticketed route, in line with the heritage authority’s estimate. For a street-level visit, allow about 10–15 minutes, an editorial estimate. If you plan to enter, leave time to find the separate ticket office.
The site provides a lifting platform to the walkway, along with tactile panels and interpretation in Italian and English. If you depend on the lift, check its availability before setting out. There are no visitor toilets inside the archaeological area. Part of the walkway is outdoors, with limited shade.
Location
Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome
Site type
Archaeological site in the Campus Martius
Earliest temple
Temple C, around 300 BCE
Key event
Caesar assassinated, 15 March 44 BCE
Senate meeting hall
Curia of Pompey
Round temple
Temple B, usually identified with Fortuna
Walkway opened
2023
Suggested visit
About 45 minutes for the ticketed route
Plan your visit to the Sacred Area and its exhibitions.
EXPLORE MORE
Explore more of Rome’s ancient sites and later neighbourhoods.
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