Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
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The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, adapted into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. It lies in the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia.
[edit] As temple
The temple was begun in 141 by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, and was intitially dedicated to his deceased and deified wife, Faustina the Elder. When Antoninus Pius was deified, after his death in 161, at the instigation of his successor, Marcus Aurelius, the temple was re-dedicated in the joint names of Antoninus and Faustina.
The building stands on a high platform of large peperino blocks. The dedicatory inscription says, "Divi Antonino et Divae Faustinae Ex S.C." meaning, “To the divine Antoninus and to the divine Faustina by decree of the Senate.”
[edit] As church
The temple may have been converted to a church, known as San Lorenzo in Miranda, as early as the 7th century, but it is only attested from the 11th century. ("miranda" may derive from the Latin mirare, to admire (referring the excellent panorama of the Forum from the church's steps, or from the name of a benefactress.) It was then thought that this was where St Lawrence had been sentenced to death.
The deep grooves in the temple's pillars are said to date to a medieval attempt to dismantle the pillared portico, either for spolia or to destroy what was then still seen as a pagan temple. Also in the middle ages, a staircase was built on the Forum side, but it is now impossible to enter from that side as there is a gap of about six metres between the top of the stairs and the door, since the Forum had not yet been dug out and thus its ground level was far higher than it now is.
In 1429/30, Pope Martin V gave the church to the Collegio degli Speziali (College of Chemists and Herbalists), at the time officially known as the Universitas Aromatorium. (They still use their adjoining guildhall, which contains a small museum that holds a medicine-receipt signed by Raphael). Side chapels were built after this date.
The church was partially deconstructed, and the side chapels removed, in 1536, in order to restore the ancient temple. The temple was remodelled in 1602 by Orazio Torriani, creating a single nave and three new side chapels. Excavations of the temple started in 1801.
All this has contributed substantially to the survival of the Cella and Portico of the temple. Indeed, the church lacks the usual east-end apse - one was never added, to retain the temple's structural integrity. The church is normally closed to the public, but may be visited 10.00-12.00 on most Thursdays.
