Tempio di Giove Lustrale hidden under San Michele alla Porta in Verona

In the heart of Verona, Italy, lies a hidden temple known as the Tempio di Giove Lustrale. Built in the 1st century, the temple was found underneath the Church of San Michele alla Porta, honoring Giove Lustrale, a god associated with water purification rituals. Ettore Ghislanzoni identified the temple and found altars dedicated to Giove Lustrale about 75 meters away. The remains of the Roman building were demolished in 1932. The temple measured 18 meters long and 10 meters wide, tetrastyle and pseudoperiptero, with four columns at the front and sides.

A large altar stood in front, and there was a subterranean cellar under the podio, covered with a barrel vault. The cellar might have been used for a water ritual, as a basin was found inside, and an inscription was found in the cellar by a certain Febo, a slave in charge of water distribution. Studies and research on the temple can be found in the Archive of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Verona, Rovigo, and Vicenza.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons