Sacello degli Augustali, Roman temple in Miseno, Bacoli, Italy

The Sacello degli Augustali is a small Roman temple with three connected chambers, with the central rectangular room built in distinctive reticulated masonry. Two side rooms extend across two levels and are carefully constructed with stone blocks.

Built in the 1st century AD under the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the sanctuary was enlarged in the mid-2nd century, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, at the expense of Cassia Victoria, wife of the Augustalis Lucius Laecanius Primitivus. It collapsed at the end of the 2nd century, probably in an earthquake, and was rediscovered in a 1967 excavation.

The building was dedicated to worshipping Roman emperors and served as a meeting place for the Augustales, a priesthood of wealthy citizens who conducted religious ceremonies. It shows how ordinary people participated in venerating the imperial family.

The remains lie at Miseno, on the Bacoli coast, and are semi-submerged by bradyseism, so parts of the chambers and the mosaic forecourt can be under water. Visit in dry weather and look from the shore and the accessible edges rather than entering flooded rooms. The statues found here are in the Museo archeologico dei Campi Flegrei at Baia.

The site was rediscovered in 1967 during an archaeological excavation, when digging brought up statues of the emperors Vespasian, Titus and Nerva, of Apollo, Venus and Asclepius, and female figures. Small dolphin figures also decorated the temple. The finds are now shown in the archaeological museum of the Castello Aragonese in Baia.