Alternate names: None
This building provided a backdrop to the Forum on the east, masking the slope of the Capitoline Hill. It was built by Q. Lutatius Catulus, consul in 78 BC. It was trapezoidal in shape, except that the southwest corner receded to respect the pre-existing Temple of Veiovis (192 BC). The ground floor has a solid wall of peperino tufa punctuated with the doorway to an internal staircase and windows. The second storey was arcaded with engaged Doric columns with a frieze of triglyphs and metopes. Behind the arches was a vaulted walkway providing dramatic views of the Forum. Fragments of the third storey lying on the ground before the structure show that it was built of travertine and decorated in the Corinthian order. This well-preserved building is conventionally called the Tabularium, or state record office, though there is no definitive proof clinching the identification.
Porticus |
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