Veii, the Etruscan city closest to Rome, was important and powerful until Rome conquered it in 396 BC. Situated on a hill, the inhabited area of Veii displays an irregular layout (determined by the topography) with occasional sections in a grid. But investigations in this area have been sporadic. Of greater interest for us is the temple in the Portonaccio sanctuary outside the city walls. Although the sanctuary site is poorly preserved and details of the reconstruction are debated, this
Temple serves as a typical example of the Tuscan temple, an Etruscan form that would take its place in the forefront of Roman religious architecture.
The Tuscan temple was discussed at length by the Roman architect Vitruvius in his treatise de Architectural The only book by an ancient artist or architect that has survived to modern times, this work has had enormous influence on the understanding and appreciation of Greco-Roman architecture. The Tuscan temple differs in key ways from the Greek temple (Figure 19.11). It sits
Figure 19.11 Reconstruction of an Etruscan temple, such as the Portonaccio Temple, Veii.
Raised on a podium, and, as Vitruvius tells us (Book IV. 7, 1—5), it should be nearly square, six parts in length, five parts in width, and further, it is divided into two equal parts, a deep porch in the front, and a cella (or cellas) in the rear half. One enters from the front only, where a special flight of steps leads up to the porch. The columns had smooth shafts, but rested on bases. The capitals of this so-called “Tuscan order” are similar to the Greek Doric. Overall the Tuscan temple offered an aesthetic impression quite different from the Greek: sitting high on a podium and with emphasis on the front, in contrast with the visual unity of the Greek temple provided by the surrounding steps and colonnade.
The temple at Veii consisted of a columned pronaos (porch) and a triple cella. The principal divinity worshipped here was Menrva, the later Roman Minerva. The reconstruction shows the wide eaves, designed to protect the mud-brick walls from the elements, which give the building is distinctive top-heavy appearance.
The temple is dated to ca. 500 BC on the basis of its painted terracotta decorations. These terracottas consist of plaques that covered the wooden structure of the roof; antefixes, the decorations along the bottom of the roof tiles on the two long sides, some with spouts for the evacuation of rainwater; and acroteria, here a group of statues that stood one after another in a line on the ridgepole of the roof. Acroteria, both stone and terracotta, commonly decorated the roof lines of Greek temples. The Etruscans, who absorbed this Greek habit, became particularly fond of them. The best-known Etruscan acroterion comes from Veii, the life-sized “Apollo,” a terracotta work whose style recalls that of Archaic Greek sculpture (Figure 19.12). This statue and its companions from the Portonaccio temple were hollow, and fired in a kiln; their bases were specially shaped to fit the curved tiles that protected the ridge pole. The examples from Veii were discovered broken, but carefully buried, a sign of the reverence in which they were held.
Figure 19.12 Apollo, terracotta statue from Veii. Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome
World History
