Capitolium Explained

A Capitolium (Latin) was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A capitolium was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the Augustan and Julio-Claudian periods. Most had a triple cella, one for each god.

The first capitolium was on the Capitoline Hill 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.^[1]

The earliest known example outside of Italy was at Emporion (now Empúries, Spain).^[2]

Examples of capitolia are:

• Capitolium Vetus (Rome)
• Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii)
• Capitolium of Minturnae
• Capitolium of Ostia Antica
• Capitolium of Brixia (Brescia)
• Capitolium of Constantinople
• Capitoline Temple at Volubilis
• Capitolium of Cosa

Notes and References

1. Richardson, L. (1992). A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (p. 70). Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. .
2. Blagg, T.F.C. (1990). "The temple at Bath (Aquae Sulis) in the context of classical temples in the western European provinces" (pp. 426 - 427). Journal of Roman Archaeology 3 (pp. 419 - 430).