Flickrfan: Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
June 19, 2009
Photographed by Storm Crypt
In 141 AD, the wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius died. The emperor had this temple constructed in her honor. Two decades later, upon the death of the emperor, the temple was rededicated to both the emperor and his wife.
During the middle ages, this temple was converted to a Christian church. The church door was originally at ground level, with much of the pedestal of the front porch buried underground by the time this was converted to a Christian church in the first millennium. By the time this was converted to a church, the structure is more than 700 years old — much of the front porch was underground. When the archeological excavations were undergone in the Roman forum, the original pedestal can now be seen, as well as the original level of the columns’ foundations — which is why the bronze door, constructed during the middle ages, seemed to be raised considerably from the front porch.
Templum Antonii et Faustinae
Roman Forum
Rome, Italy
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