Largo di Torre Argentina (the sunken archaeological zone in the Campo de' Fiori district of Rome, the rectangular excavation, approximately 100m × 80m, whose discovery during the demolition of a medieval block in 1926-1929 revealed the Area Sacra Argentina: the four Republican-period temples arranged around a central public space, the oldest surviving sacred architecture in Rome, and the specific site where Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC): the most historically significant single-block urban excavation in Rome, the site that combines Republican temple archaeology, the most famous political assassination in history, and the largest urban stray-cat colony in Italy in a single open-air archaeological zone.
The Caesar assassination: the specific historical event (the Ides of March, 44 BC. March 15, the meeting of the Roman Senate in the Porticus Pompeiana adjacent to the Theater of Pompey, which occupied the specific site of the Largo di Torre Argentina area): the conspirators (the 23 senators of the liberatores group, the specific names: Brutus, Cassius, Casca, Decimus Brutus, and the other 19 who had agreed to the assassination): the specific moment (10:00am, the Senate session in the Teatro di Pompeo's exedra, the approach of Tillius Cimber to Caesar with the petition, the grab of the toga, the first knife stroke from Casca from behind, the 23 next wounds in 30 seconds): the specific wound count (the 23 wounds documented by the post-mortem examination of Antistius, the specific doctor who confirmed that only one of the 23 wounds was fatal, the second chest wound that penetrated the heart): Caesar fell "at the foot of Pompey's statue" (Suetonius, Life of Caesar 82, the specific detail that places the murder in the Porticus Pompeiana whose western end corresponds to the northeastern corner of the current Area Sacra excavation).
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Largo di Torre Argentina: Temples, Museum, and Cats
The Four Republican Temples
Area Sacra Argentina temples (the four Republican-period sacred structures, named A, B, C, D by the archaeologists who excavated them in 1926-1929, their original dedications debated among scholars): Temple A (the oldest in the complex, 4th century BC, the specific circular temple plan that identifies it as one of Rome's earliest known circular sacred buildings). Temple B (the rotunda, the circular temple with the surviving column stumps whose plan suggests a Hellenistic influence). Temple C (possibly the oldest structure in the complex, late 4th century BC, the podium temple with the terracotta antefix decorations visible in situ). Temple D (the largest in the complex, visible only partially as the modern street level covers its western half): the four temples together constitute the most complete surviving ensemble of Republican-period sacred architecture in Rome, older than any surviving structure in the Roman Forum.
Largo Di Torre Argentina Area Sacra: tours & tickets
Compare guided tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips for Largo Di Torre Argentina Area Sacra.
See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The 2023 Underground Museum
Museo dell'Area Sacra di Largo Argentina (opened October 2023, the underground museum installed in the archaeological excavation, accessible by the staircase from the street level): the museum visit (the first time since the 1929 excavation that the Area Sacra temples have been accessible at the excavation level, rather than visible only from the street above): the museum display (the terracotta votive offerings, the architectural fragments, and the historical documentation of the Caesar assassination site): admission approximately €12 adults, €8 children. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-19:00. Book in advance at museiincomune.roma.it for the high season (April-October).
The Cat Sanctuary
Gattile dell'Area Sacra (the cat sanctuary in the sunken excavation, the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, operated since 1994 by the association "Micia Colonia Felina": approximately 250 stray cats living in the archaeological excavation, fed and cared for by the volunteer cat-colony managers who operate the Sanctuary as the largest and most specifically visible urban cat colony in Rome): the cats (the specific mix of the tabby, the black, the tortoiseshell, and the multi-colored Roman stray cats who have colonized the excavation and who are the first thing visible to the visitor looking down from the street level): the cat sanctuary experience (the specific Rome cat colony management system, the TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) program that the Roma Capitale manages through the accredited associations): visit the sanctuary (the cat shelter accessible from the museum level, the adoption and sponsorship program available at largogattidiroma.it).
Q&A: Largo di Torre Argentina
Is the Largo di Torre Argentina museum worth the admission price?
Yes, the 2023 museum opening transformed the Area Sacra from a free (but entirely above-level) viewing experience into the most historically resonant paid archaeological visit in Rome: the specific experience (walking at the same level as the Republican-period temple podiums, standing within metres of the site where Caesar was stabbed, and examining the terracotta fragments in situ) is the single most historically specific moment available in Roman archaeology. The previous free version (looking down from the street into the excavation, with the cats and the temple stumps visible below) was atmospherically remarkable but intellectually limited. The current paid museum visit (the archaeological context + the Caesar assassination narrative + the in-situ fragments) justifies the €12 admission for the historically engaged visitor. For the visitor on a budget: the free street-level view (from the street around the perimeter of the Area Sacra) gives the spatial impression of the excavation and the cats without the archaeological detail that the museum interior provides.
Internal Links
- Cesare: Dal Foro all'Area Sacra Argentina
- Templi Repubblicani Roma: L'Argentina nel Contesto
- Fotografare l'Area Sacra: I Gatti tra i Templi
- Roma Antica in Inverno: L'Area Sacra Senza Folla
- Museo Argentina: Biglietti e Orari 2026
- Roma Sotterranea: L'Area Sacra dell'Argentina
- Roma con Bambini: I Gatti dell'Argentina
