Temple of Portunus

About

The Temple of Portunus (Italian: Tempio di Portuno) is a small ancient Roman temple in Rome, Italy, on the modern Piazza della Bocca della Verità (Rione XII, Ripa). It was built beside the ancient Forum Boarium, the Roman cattle market associated with Hercules, which was adjacent to Rome's oldest river port (Portus Tiberinus) and the oldest stone bridge across the Tiber River, the Pons Aemilius. It is theorized that it was dedicated to the Roman god Portunus although the precise dedication remains unclear as there were several temples nearby also with ambiguous dedications. It was misidentified as the Temple of Fortuna Virilis (Latin for "Manly Luck") from the Renaissance and remains better known by this name. The temple is one of the best preserved of all Roman temples.

It is the most prominent temple in Rome dedicated to Portunus, the god of keys, doors and livestock, and granaries. During the Middle Ages, the temple was converted to a Christian church dedicated to Santa Maria Egyziaca or Saint Mary of Egypt, which was the national church for the Armenian community in Rome. The legend on Giovanni Battista Piranesi's veduta of about 1770 says it had the popular name of the "House of Pilate". It remained an active church until the early 20th century, when it was deconsecrated, stripped of all surrounding medieval and Renaissance era buildings, and returned to its classical appearance. It is not ordinarily open to the public, though the exterior can be seen from fairly close up.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.