 Temple of Divus Antoninus Pius and Diva Faustina The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, which stands in the Forum Romanum, was originally built by the emperor Antoninus Pius (r. 138-161) for his wife Faustina, who was deified after her death in 140. When Antonius Pius died in 161 he, too, was deified and his name was added to the dedication. The temple is readily identifiable by its row of Carystian marble columns (12 m high), six across the front with two more at each side. The beautiful sculpted frieze, of griffins and candelabra, is still well preserved at the sides. The temple’s excellent state of preservation is due to the fact that in the 7th or 8th century a church (San Lorenzo in Miranda) was installed in the cella. In 1429/30 Pope Martin V (r. 1417-31) gave the church to the Collegio degli Speziali (College of Chemists and Herbalists), who were responsible for the processing and sale of medicinal herbs. The present-day Collegio Chimico Farmaceutico is the direct descendent of this guild and retains St Lawrence as its patron. In 1601 the Roman architect Orazio Torriani (1578-1657) was commissioned to rebuild San Lorenzo in Miranda and his is the church we see today.  View of the Forum  San Lorenzo in Miranda Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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March 2021
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