Rome, Temple of Portunus

 Temple of Portunus (formerly known as Fortuna Virilis), travertine, tufa, and stucco, c. 120-80 B.C.E., Rome

Temple of Portunus (formerly known as Fortuna Virilis), travertine, tufa, and stucco, c. 120-80 B.C.E., Rome

 

In my first blog post for this week, I am going to be doing it on the Roman, Temple of Portunus. This specific building is a very rare piece of architecture that is still standing in Rome, Italy. The Temple of Portunus is rare because it is from the roman republic and it exemplifies their innovative but yet simple/traditional designs of basic architecture. Some of the architecture in the Temple of Portunus include “The temple’s design incorporates elements from several architectural traditions. From the Italic tradition it takes its high podium (one ascends stairs to enter the pronaos), and strong frontality. From Hellenistic architecture comes the Ionic order columns, the engaged pilasters and columns. The use of permanent building materials, stone (as opposed to the Italic custom of superstructures in wood, terracotta, and mudbrick), also reflects changing practices.”, according to smart history. The temple dates all the way back to “late second or early first century B.C.E.”, according to smart history. It is a rectangular building located above the ancient river harbor of the original city of Rome. This location is quite special because of what the temple represents. The Temple of Portunus is dedicated to the God Portunus, who was known to oversee all of the “livestock, keys, and harbors.” 

 

The Temple of Portunus has been put on the World Monuments Watch List back in 2006 to try and help preserve the monument/Temple for as long as possible. The temple has definitely seen its better days but according to smart history, “the World Monuments Fund sponsored a restoration of the Temple of Portunus beginning in 2000. The temple had been partially restored and conservation measures put in place in the 1920s, but the activities undertaken in the last two decades utilized the latest technologies to complete a full restoration of the interior and exterior of the building. This included the cleaning and conservation of the frescoes, replacement of the roof (incorporating ancient roof tiles), anti-seismic measures, and the cleaning and restoration of the pediment, columns, and exterior walls.” And by doing this, it helped open the temple to the public/tourists in 2014. 

 

Engaged columns, Temple of Portunus (formerly known as Fortuna Virilis), travertine, tufa, and stucco, c. 120-80 B.C.E., Rome

Engaged columns, Temple of Portunus (formerly known as Fortuna Virilis), travertine, tufa, and stucco, c. 120-80 B.C.E., Rome

 

 

Becker, Dr. Jeffrey A., and Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker. “Temple of Portunus, Rome.” Smarthistory, smarthistory.org/temple-of-portunus/. 

Link to Smart History: https://smarthistory.org/temple-of-portunus/

Comments

  1. Xaiyne Calma-ViloriaSeptember 20, 2020 at 11:00 AM

    I am infatuated with Roman architecture. Despite their simple designs, they’re both aesthetically pleasing and demonstrate a strong understanding of structural integrity. The fact that the temple still stands after being built in the third century, with minimal restoration, fascinates me. The periodic transitions reflect the contemporary traditions as well, while still showing hints of reminiscence. I mean, the Roman integration of parts of the Greek culture into their own demonstrates just that.

    -Xaiyne CV

    ReplyDelete

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