Portonaccio

The Portonaccio Sanctuary is the remains of an Etruscan temple on the edge of the ancient Etruscan metropolis of Veii, about 17 kilometres north of Rome. The complex dates from the late 6th century BCE and is famous for the over-life-size terracotta sculptures that once crowned the temple roof - most notably the world-famous Apollo of Veii, now displayed in the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia in Rome. Veii was once the most powerful Etruscan city and Rome's rival; in 396 BCE it was taken by Camillus after a long siege. On site you see the temple foundations with the three-cella ground plan, the basin of a sacred pool, and stretches of city wall in the wooded, rolling landscape of the Veio nature reserve.