The Temple of Quirinus (Latin : ''Aedes Quirinus'' or ''Templum Quirinus'') was an ancient
Roman temple built on the western half of the
Quirinal Hill
The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palac ...
near the
Capitolium Vetus
The Capitolium Vetus (Latin for ‘old Capitol’ or ‘ancient Capitol’) was an archaic temple in ancient Rome, dedicated to the Capitoline Triad. distinguishes it from the main temple to the Triad on the Capitol and shows that it was the old ...
, on a site which now equates to the junction between Via del Quirinale and Via delle Quattro Fontane, beside Piazza Barberini.
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flav ...
later built the
Temple of the gens Flavia nearby.
According to ancient authors, the temple of Quirinus was built and dedicated to
Quirinus (the deified form of
Romulus) by the consul
Lucius Papirius Cursor
Lucius Papirius Cursor (c.365–after 310 BC) was a celebrated politician and general of the early Roman Republic, who was five times consul, three times magister equitum, and twice dictator. He was the most important Roman commander during the Se ...
in 293 BC.
If still in use by the 4th-and 5th century, it would have been closed during the
persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire
Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church ...
.
Fieldwork conducted by
Andrea Carandini
Andrea Carandini (born November 3, 1937) is an Italian professor of archaeology specialising in ancient Rome. Among his many excavations is the villa of Settefinestre.
Biography
The son of Italian diplomat Count Nicolò Carandini (1896–1 ...
employed
ground penetrating radar
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, asphalt, metals, pipes, cables ...
on the Quirinal Hill, revealing possible remains of the temple.
See also
*
List of Ancient Roman temples
This is a list of ancient Roman temples, built during antiquity by the people of ancient Rome or peoples belonging to the Roman Empire. Roman temples were dedicated to divinities from the Roman pantheon.
Substantial remains
Most of the be ...
References
{{reflist
Quirinus
Rome R. II Trevi
Roman temples by deity
3rd-century BC religious buildings and structures