Un architetto per il «tempio immenso» del Quirinale

In the light of a centuries-long debate, some definite conclusions appear to have been reached regarding the dating (Severan), the architecture (of micro-Asiatic inspiration), the identification of the titular deity (Hercules and Bacchus and/or Serapis, perhaps Salus) and the historical and ideological interpretation (in the context of the dynastic politics of the Severans) of the great sanctuary on the Quirinal hill. Thanks to these achievements, it is likely that Rome’s largest sacred complex can be identified with the «immense temple» built by Septimius Severus (Cass. Dio 76.16.3) and that its architect was M. Aurelius Pericles of Mylasa of Caria, celebrated in his homeland, in his sepulchral epigraph, for having built in Rome a temple «capable of accommodating innumerable men».