THE HOUSE OF THE VESTALS AND THE MARGARITARIA PORTICO

The House of the Vestals was standing along the buttresses of the Palatine, in the foreground on the right. This is the central part of the picture.

Under this angle, you can notice the small round temple of Vesta, between the House of the Vestals and the temple of deified Julius, in the centre of the picture. It is in this small temple that the Vestals kept up the sacred fire.

Seen from above, you see the gardens of the Vestals. The great buildings that extend the House of the Vestals, opposite to the Basilica of Maxentius, are called MARGARITARIA PORTICO. Situated on the south side of the Roman Forum, between the House of the Vestals and the Arch of Titus, this portico was built by Nero and altered during the second quarter of the IInd century to house luxury shops, pearls, jewellery. This great portico could therefore be the old vestibule of Nero’s Golden House.