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Ostia Antica in Cittΰ metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Latium, Rome, Italy — Central Italy (Tyrrhenian Coast)
 

Quattro Tempietti
⎯⎯⎯
Four Small Temples

 
 
Quattro Tempietti / Four Small Temples Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, August 5, 2025
1. Quattro Tempietti / Four Small Temples Marker
Inscription.
Questo complesso, probabilmente costruito intorno alla metΰ del I secolo a.C., θ costituito da quattro edifici quasi identici per forma e dimensione (A), realizzati in opera quasi reticolata su un'unica piattaforma (B), rivolti verso una vasta area scoperta delimitata da un recinto (D). Si tratta dei templi di Venere, della Fortuna, di Cerere e di Spes (la Speranza), menzionati da un'epigrafe rinvenuta a Porto e costruiti da Publio Lucilio Gamala. magistrato proveniente da un'illustre famiglia ostiense. Il santuario, dedicato a divinitΰ protettrici della navigazione e del commercio, si trovava in una zona prossima al porto fluviale e all'interno della zona pubblica delimitata dai cippi di Caninio. I tempietti subirono nel tempo numerosi restauri, come documentano sia l'iscrizione in mosaico del tempio piω occidentale che menziona il duoviro (magistrato municipale) Caio Cartilio Poplicola (fine I secolo a.C.), sia l'aggiunta di un pronao nel tempio piω orientale.

The complex, probably built in around the mid-1st century BC, consists of four buildings (A) of identical shape and size in opus quasi reticulatum on a single
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podium (B), facing towards a vast open area bounded by a wall (D). These are the temples of Venus, Fortuna, Ceres and Spes (Hope) mentioned in an inscription found at Portus and built by Publius Lucilius Gamala, a magistrate belonging to an important Ostian family. The sanctuary, dedicated to deities who protected sailing and commerce, lay near the river port within the area of public land marked out by the boundary stones of Caninius. The little temples were restored on numerous occasions, as we know from both the mosaic inscription of the westernmost temple mentioning the duumvir (municipal magistrate) Gaius Cartilius Poplicola (Augustan period) and the addition of a porch to the easternmost temple.

 
Erected by Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & ArchaeologyArts, Letters, MusicIndustry & CommerceReligion & Religious Structures.
 
Location. 41° 45.319′ N, 12° 17.459′ E. Marker is in Ostia Antica, Lazio (Latium, Rome), in Cittΰ metropolitana di Roma Capitale. It
Quattro Tempietti / Four Small Temples Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, August 5, 2025
2. Quattro Tempietti / Four Small Temples Marker
can be reached from Viale degli Scavi. The marker is along the main roadway (Decamanus Maximus), a short distance west of the Roman theatre at Ostia Antica Archaeological Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ostia Antica, Lazio 00119, Italy. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, the Schengen Area, a coastal Mediterranean country, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Tempio Collegiale dei Fabri Tignuarii / Temple of the Builders Guild (a few steps from this marker); Fullonica su Via degli Augustali / Fullery on the Road of the Augustales (within shouting distance of this marker); Piazzale delle Corporazioni / Square of the Corporations (within shouting distance of this marker); The Theatre of Ostia (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); In Memoriam Sanctae Monnicae / In Memory of Saint Monica (about 90 meters away); Mitreo di Felicissimo / Mithraeum of Felicissimus (about 90 meters away); The Martyrs of Ostia Tiberina (about
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120 meters away); a different marker also named Piazzale delle Corporazioni / Square of the Corporations (about 120 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ostia Antica.
 
Also see . . .  Quattro Tempietti.
Excerpt: "It is conceivable that these four temples are mentioned in an Ostian inscription from the first century BC, and therefore that they can be identified as temples of Venus, Fortuna, Ceres and Spes, built by Publius Lucilius Gamala: idem aedem Veneris sua pecunia constituit, idem aedem Fortunae sua pecunia constituit, idem aedem Cereris sua pecunia constituit ... idem aedem Spei sua pecunia constituit (CIL XIV, 375). The four gods may have been related to the river-harbour and the sea."
(Submitted on August 11, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 11, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 84 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on August 11, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
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Aug. 9, 2026