The Temple

The artwork “The Temple” (Il Tempio) by Ale Senso was created as part of the project “In the Footsteps of the Arvales. Voices and Images from the Origins of Rome to Contemporary Times,” curated by the Muri Lab APS Association. This project aims to connect archaeology, contemporary art, and urban narrative in the heart of the Municipio XI district.

The project, promoted by Roma Capitale – Department of Culture, is the winner of the Public Notice Artes et Iubilaeum – 2025. It is funded by the European Union Next Generation EU for large tourist events under the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), measure M1C3 – Investment 4.3 – Caput Mundi.

Description: the artist conceived a painted installation that gives the lost Temple of the goddess Dia its shape back. The lower part of the sculpture turns into a vase that hosts lavender, oregano, and thyme plants, which make the background of the goddess’s sacred grove, depicted in the rear panels, three-dimensional. The laurel plants on both the sides recall the plants that actually formed the sacred grove (laurels and holm oaks).

The Temple of the goddess Dia, or aedes deae Diae, was the main house of worship of the Arvales within a larger complex, more than 5 hectares wide, on a hill sloping down towards the banks of the Tiber river, at the 5th mile of the Via Campana, today in Magliana Vecchia.

Materials Used: shaped methyl methacrylate sheets with low environmental impact, 100% recyclable. Acrylic industrial paints, acid-free acrylic fixative. Steel support elements and fastening accessories. Topsoil, clay, plants, white and grey pebbles.

Location: Via delle Catacombe di Generosa n. 41

Installation Date: installed between August 27 and September 7, 2025.

Photos of the artwork

To learn more about the project and the other artworks

Or to learn more about the Temple of the goddess Dia:

The foundations of the temple, with a diameter of about 22.50 meters, are still under La Tavernaccia restaurant, in Via del Tempio degli Arvali. Explored since the 1500s, the site was identified in 1866 and subsequently excavated in various stages until the research by the École Française de Rome in 1988.

Thanks to the results of these archaeological campaigns and the records of the Arvales (acta), inscribed on the temple’s marble slabs and found in fragments over the centuries, it is possible to reconstruct how the temple complex developed over time. According to some sources, the house of worship might have existed since the time of Romulus in the 8th century BC, but the first traces of activity are dated back only to the Republican era, between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. During the time of Augustus, between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, the worship of the goddess Dia was revived and refounded. This was followed by a significant arrangement during the Flavian age, in the second half of the 1st century AD, and a complete refurbishment during the time of Alexander Severus at the beginning of the 3rd century AD.

The sanctuary, called lucus in the commentarii or acta of the Arvales, was formed by several buildings that sloped along a north-south axis from the hilltop, named Monte delle Piche in the modern era, to the right bank of the Tiber, specifically:

• The upper part (lucus, sacred grove), with the street via Campana passing through it, included the temple (aedes) and the altar of the goddess, along with various minor altars. During the Severan age (3rd century AD), the temple was completely rebuilt, maintaining the original site and plan;
• The intermediate part (ante lucum, in front of the sacred grove) with a second altar of the goddess, the Caesareum, and the tetrastylum;
• The lower part on the slopes of the hill with the papiliones (pavilions), the balneum (bath complex), and the circus.