Area Sacra Di San Omobono

The ancient sanctuary at San Omobono overlooked the river harbor on the Tiber, through which Rome trades overseas since its beginning.
The results of the excavations show two major temples placed side-​by-​side and dedicated to the goddesses Fortuna and Mater Matuta. Between the 6^th century b. c. and the 2^nd century a. d., the temples were built and rebuilt four times.
The group with Minerva and Hercules (now on display in the Capitoline Museums) connected with the cult of Hercules, are spectacular terracotta statues from the earliest phase.
A the beginning of the republican period (5^th-​4^th century b. c. the sancuary was raised and rebuilt to protect it from the river floods. The temples were built in much larger proportions upon an broad podium made of tufo blocks, a local vulcano stone. They had twor rows of colums on the front and a room at the back that contained the cult statue. The podium was refaces several times, hence its present composite aspect. A phase of rebuilding certainly happened after the conquest of Veii in 396 b. c. and another after the triumph over Volsinii in 264 b. c. In the early Imperial period (1^st-​2^nd century a. d.), the area was raised again and repaved in travertine (a local limestone). Some of the slabs are still visible, supported by modern brick columns. Marble fragments of the temple decoration can be seen scattered all over the area.
The excavation carried out so far have left open a number of problems if interpretation and chronology, in part because the deeper levels have only been reached in very small trenches. There are also serious conservation issues, especially in connection with the parts in tufo, which are extremely vulnerable to weathering.