The Tempio della Sibilla in Tivoli dates back to the 2nd century BC. It cannot be indicated with certainty to whom exactly the temple was dedicated. From this temple, which in the Middle Ages was converted into a church (now no longer in existence), one has a panoramic view of the Villa Gregoriana.
Tempio Della Sibilla Tivoli
Useful information
Address: Piazza del Tempio di Vesta, 1-7 – 00019 – Tivoli. Opening hours and entrance price: Unknown.
History and description
It is not entirely certain to whom this temple built in the mid-2nd century BC was dedicated. Theories include Vesta, Tibut, Hercules and the 10th Sybil, Albunea.
The temple was partly built on an artificially widened piece of land on which the Acropolis was built. It is a Corinthian peripteron.
The temple itself rests on a base of about 16 by 9 meters and is made of travertine marble. The staircase that led to the 1.76-meter-high cella has completely disappeared.
The lower parts of two of the four columns near the facade are still standing. On the sides and back, 12 more semicircular columns are built against the cella.
The interior was divided into a cella and a pronaos.
In the Middle Ages, the temple was converted into a church. The oldest reference to this church, which was dedicated to St. George, dates back to 978. Until recently, fragments of a fresco depicting the “Redeemer” were still visible on one of the walls.