The Area Sacra or Sacred Area of Largo di Torre Argentina has the remains of four of the oldest temples in the capital. They were discovered during city remodelling works in the 1920s and date back to the Republican era, when they were built to commemorate triumphant victories over other realms.
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 delineated to the North by the Hecatostylum (one-hundred columns porch) and the Baths of Agrippa, and to the South by the buildings related to the Circus Flaminius, to the 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 built by Gaius Lutatius Catulus after his victory against the Carthaginians in 241 BC. It was later rebuilt as a church, the apse of which is still present.
