Temple di Portonaccio in Veii (600 BCE)

(October 23, 2023) Veii (Veius) was a southern Etruscan city 16 km (9.9 mi) north-northwest of Rome, Italy located on a defensible tuff plateau 190 hectares (470 acres) in area. It now lies in Isola Farnese, a commune of Rome.  Veii was alternately at war and in alliance with the Roman Kingdom and later Republic for over 300 years. It eventually fell in the Battle of Veii to Roman general Camillus's army in 396 BC.  The site is now a protected area, part of the Parco di Veio established by the regional authority of Lazio in 1997.

It's sanctuary complex was initially built in the 600's BCE on the side of the plateau outside the city walls (last construction done around 510 BCE). In it were found many Etruscan artifacts. The complex was composed of two main structures, one was a sanctuary and the other was a 3-roomed temple that had 3 statues on its roof. One of these was incorrectly identified as the Greek sun god Apollo so this temple has come to be regarded as a temple of Apollo. Next to the temple of Apollo was a rectangular pool and a well to provide water. The site has been left wooded, as it was in ancient times, when surrounded by a sacred grove and a wall. 

In the 300's BCE the temple was disassembled and its statues buried across the road that surround the plateau.