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Temple of Hercules Victor

Name: Temple of Hercules Victor
Rating: 4.5

4.5 ·

Discover the Temple of Hercules Victor, Rome's oldest surviving marble building. Stand before its Corinthian columns and circular Republican-era form, tucked in a quiet piazza beside the Temple of Portunus near the old Forum Boarium.

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Reasons to go

It is the oldest surviving marble building in Rome, dating to the late 2nd century BC.
The circular design follows a Greek tholos plan rather than typical Roman temple form.
Its conversion into a church during the Middle Ages saved it from being quarried for building stone.

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Full description

Raised in the late 2nd century BC beside the ancient river port of the Forum Boarium, this compact circular temple survived largely because it was converted into a church during the Middle Ages, which spared it from being quarried for stone. Its Corinthian columns and simple, elegant form give a sense of Republican-era Roman architecture, a style overshadowed in most itineraries by the grander Imperial-era ruins.

Standing beside its neighbor, the Temple of Portunus, in a small, easily overlooked piazza, it rewards visitors who slow down between the bigger sights nearby. A brief but genuinely ancient stop.

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Address

Piazza della Bocca della Verità, 00186 Roma RM, Italy · Ripa

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Hours

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Booking

Walk-in

Duration

15 min

Intensity

Easy pace

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Good to know

Pair it with the neighboring Temple of Portunus, just steps away in the same small piazza
it's viewable only from outside, so there's nothing to book
visit in early evening light, when the piazza is at its most atmospheric.

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Reviews

This is one of the oldest temples in Rome from the 2nd century BC. If nearby it may be worth a quick look, but otherwise there is little to see or read without having a guide.

Becky T

3/5

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