Temple of Hadrian

Piazza di Pietra. (Open Map)
(75)

Description

This temple was built by Antoninus Pius and dedicated to the deified Emperor Hadrian in 145 AD. All that remains of the building, incorporated in the Palace of the Borsa (Stock Exchange) in Piazza di Pietra, is the northern side with eleven columns. 

The temple had eight columns on the short sides and eleven on the long ones and rose on a high podium that could be accessed from the east side through a staircase. The largely restored architrave presents a rich decoration with small palm trees and lion heads. 

The inside consisted of semicolumns that rested on high plinths decorated with reliefs that depicted the personification of the Roman Provinces. These reliefs are kept today in the Palazzo dei Conservatori and in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.