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Largo di Torre Argentina

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image:PICT0510.JPG thumb|300px|Largo di Torre Argentina, ''Temple A'' (to [[Juturna), with part of ''Temple B'' on the left. On the back, the ''Teatro Argentina''.]] '''Largo di Torre Argentina''' is a square in Rome that hosts four Roman Republic Republican Roman temples, and the remains of Pompey's Theater. It is located in the ancient Campus Martius. The name of the square comes from the ''Torre Argentina'', which is not related to the South American Argentina country, but to the city of Strasbourg, whose original name was ''Argentoratum''. In 1503, in fact, John Burckhardt from Strasbourg built in ''via del Sudario'' a palace (now at number 44), ''Casa del Bucardo'', annexing a tower, called ''Torre Argentoratina'' from the name of his hometown. After Italian unification, it was decided to reconstruct part of Rome (1909), demolishing the zone of ''Torre Argentina'', where the remainings of a medieval tower, ''Torre Papito'' or ''Torre Boccamazzi'', and of one temple were to be included in the new buildings. During the works (1927), however, the colossal head and arms of a marble statue were discovered. The archeological investigation brought to light the presence of a ''holy area'', dating to the Republican era, with four temples and part of Pompey's Theater.

Roman temples
Image:Rome_the_sacred_area_of_largo_argentina_20050922.jpg thumb|300px|right|The ''Temple B'', devoted to ''Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei''. The four temples, originally designated by the letters ''A'', ''B'', ''C'', and ''D'', front onto a paved street, which was reconstructed in the imperial era, after the fire of AD 80. The area was delimited at North by the ''Hecatostylum'' (one-hundred colums porch) and the Baths of Agrippa, at South by the buildings related to the Circus Flaminius, at East by the great porched square of ''Porticus Minucia Frumentaria'', and to the West by the Theatre of Pompey. ''Temple A'' was built in the 3rd century BC, and is probably the ''Temple of Juturna''{{ref.html">Gaius Lutatius Catulus after his victory.html">Battle of the Aegates Islands|victory against Carthaginians in 241 BC. It was later rebuilt into a church, whose apsis is still present. ''Temple B'', a circular temple with six columns remaining, was built by Quintus Lutatius Catulus in 101 BC to celebrate his Battle of Vercellae victory over Cimbri; it was ''Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei'', a temple devoted to the "Luck of the Current Day". The colossal statue found during excavations and now kept in the Capitoline Museums was the statue of the goddess herself. Only the head, the arms, and the legs were of marble: the other parts, covered by the dress, were of bronze. ''Temple C'' is the most ancient of the three, dating back to 4th century BC 4th or 3rd century BC, and was probably devoted to ''Feronia (goddess) Feronia'' the ancient Italic goddess of fertility. After the fire of 80, this temple was restored, and the white and black mosaic of the inner temple cell dates back to this restoration. ''Temple D'' is the largest of the four, dates back to 2nd century BC with Late Republican restorations, and was devoted to ''Lares Lares Permarini Permarini'', but only a small part of it has been excavated (a street covers the most of it).

18th Century opera house
'''''Teatro Argentina''''' is an 18th century opera house and theater located in the square. The premieres of many noteable operas took place there. They include Gioachino Rossini's ''The Barber of Seville'' in 1816 and Giuseppe Verdi's ''I due Foscari'' in 1844 and ''La battaglia di Legnano'' in 1849.

The cat shelter
Located in the ''Largo Argentina'' is the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, a no-kill shelter for homeless cats (of which Rome has many). The presence of the shelter proves to be a point of interest for both tourists and locals, as the historical area abounds with various breeds of cat, cavorting and lounging about on the ancient (and semi-ancient) ruins.

External links
{{Commons|Largo Argentina}}
- Cat Sanctuary at the Largo di Torre Argentina
- Teatro Argentina official web site

Notes
# {{note|acqua_vergine}} This identification is preferred over the one as Temple of ''Iuno Curritis'' because Ovidius (''Fasti'' I) says: "Te quoque lux eadem Turni soror aede recepit/Hic, ubi Virginea Campus obitur aqua", thus posing the temple of Juturna near the Aqua Virgo, which ended at the Baths of Agrippa. Category:Temples in Rome Category:Monuments and sights of Rome Category:Opera houses de:Largo di Torre Argentina it:Largo di Torre Argentina

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