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Temple of Saturn Tempio di Saturno

 
The first temple in the Forum was dedicated to Saturn, a god who was probably of Etruscan origin but was adopted by the Romans and worshipped as the supreme god. Built about 497 B.C., soon after the expulsion of the Tarquins, the temple was one of the most important and most venerated of republican Rome. It was several times destroyed by fire (the last occasion being in the A.D. fourth century) but was repeatedly rebuilt.

Must-see attractions nearby:
Colosseum
Pantheon
Trevi Fountain
Vatican City
Roman Forum
Palatine Hill
National Museum / Baths Museum
It is represented by eight columns with Ionic capitals, now much weathered. Under the Republic the state treasury was kept in this temple. The celebration of the Saturnalia, observed annually on December 17th, started from the temple of Saturn. Adjoining the temple is a fragment of the Miliarium Aureum, the "Golden Milestone" which was the starting point of the Via Sacra and all the Roman consular roads. On the stone, in golden figures, were inscribed the distance from Rome to the various provinces of the Empire.

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