Temple of Minerva Medica - Horti Liciniani

The so-called Temple of Minerva Medica is located in the Esquilino district, in Via Giolitti, next to the Rome-Pantano urban railway line.

It was so named in the 16th century, when a statue of Minerva with the snake was found, erroneously attributed to the building in via Giolitti, actually found in Campo Marzio.

It is a large imperial brick building dating back to the early decades of the fourth century AD, consisting of a covered domed hall with a twelve-sided plan, on each of which, except the entrance, there are semicircular niches. Ten large windows open on the walls of the room.

The building that had a dome of about 25 meters in diameter, the third largest in ancient Rome, after that of the Pantheon and the Baths of Caracalla, was probably a representative pavilion or a nymphaeum (monumental fountain) that was part of the complex degli Horti Liciniani, a large villa that takes its name from the emperor Licinius Gallienus (260-268 AD).

The construction represents the development that took place in Roman architecture in the context of buildings with a central plan, which anticipates forms and aspects of Paleobyzantine architecture.

Photo credits: Courtesy of Soprintendenza Speciale Roma