Temple of Jupiter Anxur, Roman sanctuary in Terracina, Italy.
Temple of Jupiter Anxur is a Roman sanctuary on Monte Sant'Angelo above the town of Terracina, spread across several levels and showing remains of defensive constructions. Large stone platforms frame open areas, while column fragments and wall ruins hint at the scale of the original complex.
The Volscian town of Anxur fell to Rome at the end of the 5th century BC, and in 329 BC a Roman colony was founded. The first polygonal terraces on the summit, linked to an oracular cult, date from this period. In the early 1st century BC, during Sulla's era, the sanctuary was rebuilt with a walled military camp and a large temple on a foundation terrace of opus incertum.
The name Jupiter Anxur is traditional: an inscription naming Venus and votive glass doves dedicated to Venus Obsequens suggest the great temple was dedicated to her, while the older terrace probably honoured Feronia. The hill's modern name comes from the Benedictine monastery of San Michele Arcangelo, whose monks reused a vaulted corridor as a church with 9th-century frescoes.
Access follows a steep path, so sturdy footwear helps when walking over uneven ground and loose stones. On hot days, early morning or late afternoon is more comfortable, since the site offers little shade.
The sanctuary's upper terrace, the "campo trincerato", was a military camp with a wall of nine circular towers linking it to the city's acropolis. Behind the three-sided portico ran a patrol walkway and a row of interconnected cisterns. In the southwest corner stands a small temple in antis, with two columns between the cella wall extensions.
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