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THE ROUND TEMPLE OF VESTA |
| Once it was referred to as "the hut of sacred fire" and probably made of wood, straw, and wicker. It was reconstructed and erected in its true form of today by Septimius Severus’ wife Giulia Domna. The temple has a circular plan with a cell ritually opened toward the east. The conical shaped roof is bored to allow the escape of sacred smoke which was kept active by the Vestals. Sacred objects connected to the fate of Rome were conserved here. According to tradition, these objects were brought from Troy by Aeneas |
