About
Overlooking an Italian town, a Roman temple has been forgotten several times.
The origins of the town of Terracina are lost to time, as the area was probably inhabited for many centuries even before the Romans conquered it during the fifth century B.C. On the hill overlooking the town, there were possibly just a few small constructions erected in the 3rd century B.C., consisting of just a small sanctuary. In the early first century B.C., a large monumental complex rose on the hill, consisting of the new larger temple and a military camp to control the nearby Via Appia, an important road connecting Rome to southern Italy. The area was surrounded by defensive walls. The temple is attributed to Jupiter Anxur, with Anxur being both the ancient Volscian name of the town and Jupiter's name as a youth.
