Capitol in Ostia
The Capitol or Capitolium stood at the forum of Ostia and was one of the most important buildings in the ancient city. The building was built under Hadrian , around 120 AD.
The brick-built temple stood on the north side of the forum and blocked traffic there because it was built on one of the main streets of the city. It was a Roman podium temple , which means that the building stood on a high base. This could be reached via 22 steps and measured 35 × 15.5 m in plan. This podium perhaps symbolized the Capitoline Hill on which the Capitol of Rome stood.
The front of the temple was divided by six columns. In total, the ruins are still around 17 m high today. In ancient times the temple was more than 20 m high. The actual cella behind the column facade consisted of a large room, on the rear wall of which there were again three cells, which were probably dedicated to the Capitoline Triassic of Jupiter , Juno and Minerva . However, there is no conclusive evidence that these deities were actually worshiped here and the identification is based on comparisons with temples in other parts of the Roman Empire. It has therefore even been assumed that the temple was dedicated to Vulcanus , the patron of the city. However, it is known from inscriptions that the Temple of Vulcan was renovated in 112. This date cannot be reconciled with the time when the Capitol was built. The construction time around 120 AD is reliably attested by stamped bricks.
The interior of the cella was richly decorated with marble. Almost nothing of it has survived today. 19th century drawings show that the floor was decorated with a checkerboard pattern. There are niches in the walls of the cella.
In front of the temple was an altar clad in marble, the relief decoration of which shows weapons.
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Coordinates: 41 ° 45 ′ 15.8 ″ N , 12 ° 17 ′ 17 ″ E