In 2008 the House of Augustus on the Palatine Hill opened to the public after years of painstaking restoration work. Visitors descend the hillside to see a series of beautifully painted rooms, including the emperor’s private study, all embedded in massive concrete foundations, about which nothing is said. They are the footings of the temple of Apollo, Imperial Rome’s most important temple after that of Jupiter on the Capitoline. Ancient literature abounds with references to it, but its size and shape, and its relationship to the emperor’s own house have never been explained satisfactorily. This lecture presents a radically different interpretation of the evidence, with a new reconstruction of both the temple and its setting.

Amanda Claridge is professor of Roman archaeology at Royal Holloway, University of London.

This event is a collaboration between the Archaeological Institute of America and the American Academy in Rome.