LARGO DI TORRE ARGENTINA

Description

Essentials about Largo di Torre Argentina in brief

Largo di Torre Argentina is one of the most important transport hubs in the old city of Rome, where numerous buses stop. However, this alone would not qualify the square as a place of interest. It is much better known as a large excavation site of temples from the time of the Roman Republic.

The complex of Largo di Torre Argentina

The so-called “Area Sacra” (“Holy District”) is located below the current street level and is easily visible from all sides. The area is not accessible to the public. The excavation area includes the remains of four temples and adjacent secular buildings. Since the temples cannot be unequivocally assigned to individual deities, they are generally designated from north to south by the letters A through D.

The temples were surrounded by larger public buildings from the 1st century BC. To the north adjoined the Hecatostylum (Hall of a Hundred Columns) and the Baths of Agrippa. To the west stood the Portico and the Theater of Pompey. To the south were the Circus Flaminius and the Theater of Balbus, and to the east was the Porticus Minucia Frumentaria, probably built under Claudius, which served the imperial grain distribution in Rome. The four sanctuaries of the Area Sacra were already surrounded by a large hall complex, the Porticus Minucia vetus in campo, in the Republican period.

The cats of Largo di Torre Argentina

However, Largo di Torre Argentina is not only of interest to fans of Roman excavations, but also a popular place for cat lovers. Because the area is a well-known home for stray cats. Here, in the midst of the temple ruins, the so-called “gattare” (the cat lovers) provide them with food and petting, give them veterinary care and place them with cat lovers.