The Temple of Jupiter Anxur is an Ancient Roman temple that is located in Terracina, Italy. It was built between the mid-second and mid-first century BC and is attributed to young Jupiter, who was the protector of Anxur, which in addition to being the name of young Jupiter, was also the name of ancient Terracina. It was located along the Via Appia which passed through the military center in Terracina and is suited on top of Mount Sant’Angelo. The site is erected on top of terraces that sloping downwards with many temples scattered throughout it. The largest temple is dedicated to Jupiter while a smaller temple dedicated to Venus Obsequens is placed next to it. After the Roman era, the sanctuary was destroyed and set on fire. The remains were known in the medieval times as “Theodoric’s palace,” and in the early Middle Ages, a monastery dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel was settled in the small temple. The interior was transformed into a church, and 9th-century frescos can still be found inside. The first excavations of the temple date back to 1894 by Pio Capponi.
Architecture
The temple was built on a previous place of worship. The complex consists of three terraces: the upper terrace, the middle terrace, and the lower terrace. The upper terrace is characterized by a long corridor that borders the square on three sides and opens to the south and was mainly used by the military. The middleterrace houses the main temples of worship, and the base is made by a succession of twelve arches in opus incertum that is transversely connected to each other to create the illusion of a long corridor, which is still well preserved today. To the east of the cryptoporticus is an access to a small cave that probably connected with the oracular sanctuary. The large temple stood on a high podium and is oriented almost perfectly along the north–south axis with six Corinthian columns lining the front of the building and four on each side. The pronaos is almost as deep as the cella. Located behind the temple is a portico where traces of frescos can still be seen. Recently, the attribution of the temple to Jupiter has been questioned due to a few dedicatory inscriptions probably to Venus Obsequens.
