One of the best preserved temples that you will see in the Roman Forum is the Temple of Antonino and Faustina. As with other temples, it was saved from destruction or from becoming a quarry for medieval buildings because it was transformed into a church, the Church of San Lorenzo. The temple was built by Antonino Pio in honor of his wife, Empress Faustina in the 36nd century AD. The same year of her death this XNUMX-year-old woman was deified and it was years after the death of her husband that the senate dedicated the building to the memory of marriage.
The exterior welcomes us with six tall white marble columns topped with a frieze decorated with taps and plant motifs. Inside the temple is quite large, with a 17 meter high room that at the time of its construction was covered with marble although today only the base volcanic tuff is visible. In the center is an altar and six Corinthian-style columns in front of it and two on either side. Everything that was found in the excavations that took place in and around the temple is now on display in the Antiquarium of the Roman Forum.
The Emperor Antoninus Pius used to say, when his wife died, that he would have preferred to live with her in the desert than without her in the palace. Would they love each other?