Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei

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Front view showing altar

Side view. Altar is to the right.

Detail: Pavement level was raised in antiquity

Aedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei, (Fortune of This Day), a circular temple with six columns now standing, was built by Quintus Lutatius Catulus in 101 BCE to fulfill a vow at the battle of Vercellae. The colossal statue found during excavations and now kept in the Capitoline Museums (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Braccio Nuovo) was the statue of the goddess herself. Only the head, the arms, and the legs were of marble: the other parts, covered by the dress, were of bronze.

Originally there was a small, cylindrical cella surrounded by eighteen tufa columns (Corinthian order). Later, the cella was demolished and the intercolumnar spaces were filled, creating a new, larger cella. Remains of the fill can be seen today. The podium has also been enlarged and at some point the pavement around the temple was raised, probably due to flooding from the nearby Tiber.