Brescia, temple-capitolium

The Capitolium, built by the emperor Vespasian in AD 73, was a religious site and the monumental centre of ancient Brixia. The building was situated on the decumanus maximus (on the line of Via Musei) and was discovered in 1823. It is a temple with three chambers, where the Capitoline trinity of deities was worshipped, and is based on the plan of the underlying Republican temple (probably constructed in 80-70 BC, soon after Roman citizenship was granted in 89 BC), which has also been brought to light by the archaeological excavations. It seems that the Capitolium originally had four chambers, a peculiarity due to the form of the preceding Republican temple, the easternmost of which was demolished to make way for an extension of the theatre. This fourth cella was probably used for the worship of a local deity, perhaps a Celtic god such as Bergimo, or maybe Hercules, given that there existed an oral tradition of referring to the Capitolium as the Temple of Hercules.
Inside marble fragments of an enormous male statue were found; others have come to light recently. The most probable intriguing explanation is that these came from a sculpture of the enthroned Capitoline Jupiter Optimus Maximus which dominated the central chamber; such a statue would have been modelled on that in the Capitoline temple in Rome, copies of which were installed in religious buildings throughout the empire.
The temple was reached by means of two flights of stairs, and overlooked the forum and basilica. Cidneo Hill thus provided a dramatic background to the setting, in the style of Hellenistic architectural models. The surrounding area, once the Roman city centre, contains the remains of numerous monumental buildings of importance for civil, social and economic life, such as the theatre, which was used for entertainment and public meetings and is calculated to have held fifteen thousand people.