Area Sacra di S. Omobono (The sacred area of s. omobono)

 

The most important discovery is that of the remains of an archaic temple beneath the apse of the church of S. Omobono.

This is the most ancient example of a Tuscan-order temple in the Roman area, and it may be dated to the mid 6th century BC.

It was rebuilt a few decades later, along with all its decorative apparatus, and then destroyed towards the end of the 6th century BC after the expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome.

The place was consecrated to Mater Matuta, a deity who appears in the temple decoration and is associated with the commercial river port area.

In the early 5th century BC, a pair of temples were built, in honor of Fortuna (the west one) and Mater Matuta (the east one).

The two tempies were destroyed in a fire in 212 BC and rebuilt at the end of the 3'd century BC.

Several imperial phases have also been documented.

In the 6th century, an early Christian church was built on top of the pagan temple, and in the 12th-13th centuries the church was restored, with the addition of a new Cosmatesque-type floor.

In 1482 the church was rebuilt and named S. Salvatore in Porticu.

ln 1700 it was finally consecrated to Sts Homobonus and Anthony.

The sanctuary has yielded a large quantity of materials which document the commercial importance of the area and derive from the temples terracotta decorations.

Via Petroselli, on the corner with Via di Vico Jugario.

Address Vico Jugario, 4

 

 

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