Tempio Capitolino Piazza del Foro Brescia

A ''Capitolium'' (Latin) was an

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

temple dedicated to the

Capitoline Triad The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill ( Latin ''Capitolium''). It comprised Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The triad held a central place ...

of gods

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...

Juno Juno commonly refers to: * Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Juno, in the ...

and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...

. A capitolium was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the Augustan and

Julio-Claudian , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type=Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...

periods. Most had a triple ''

cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...

'', one for each god. The first capitolium was on the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...

in Rome and was considered the centre of the city, where it meant the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus and afterwards the Latin word was used for the whole hill. The earliest known example outside of Italy was at Emporion (now Empúries, Spain).Blagg, T.F.C. (1990). "The temple at Bath (

Aquae Sulis Aquae Sulis (Latin for ''Waters of Sulis'') was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is the English city of Bath, Somerset. The Antonine Itinerary register of Roman roads lists the town as ''Aquis Sulis.'' Ptolemy record ...

) in the context of classical temples in the western European provinces" (pp. 426–427). ''Journal of Roman Archaeology'' 3 (pp. 419–430). Examples of ''capitolia'' are: * Capitolium Vetus (Rome) * Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii) * Capitolium of Minturnae * Capitolium of

Ostia Antica Ostia Antica ("Ancient Ostia") is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of Ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Rome. "Ostia" (plur. of "ostium") is a derivation of ...

* Capitolium of Brixia (Brescia) * Capitoline Temple at Volubilis * Capitolium of

Cosa Cosa was a Latin colony founded in southwestern Tuscany in 273 BC, on land confiscated from the Etruscans, to solidify the control of the Romans and offer the Republic a protected port. The Etruscan site (called ''Cusi'' or ''Cosia'') may have ...

References

{{reflist Jupiter (mythology) Minerva Ancient Roman architecture