The temple of Auguste and Livie is located at Vienne, in the department of Isère, 35 km south of Lyon.
It was built around the year 20 BC on a platform overlooking the banks of the Rhone to the west.
Dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus (as well as his wife Livia), his face evokes the Maison Carrée in Nîmes. The monument is considered architecturally as a peripteral Roman temple (surrounded by Corinthian columns) and hexastyle (six of them are located on the façade).
Excavations have established that during antiquity, the temple adjoined a vast esplanade where were raised other buildings, the assembly bringing together in one space the administrative functions of the city.
At the fall of the Roman Empire, the temple of Vienne was transformed into a parish church, undergoing some reworking (closing of the sides). This mutation, however, has allowed its preservation. After the Revolution, it houses successively the Commercial Court, a museum and a library.
Classified as a Historic Monument from the publication of the first list established by Prosper Mérimée in 1840, the temple was the subject of a long restoration campaign in 1852 to restore its original appearance.
It remains today with the Maison Carrée de Nîmes the monument of this kind best preserved in the territory of ancient Gaul and is therefore a must for any enthusiast history and architecture.
Free visit all year and guided tour on request. Information on +33 4 74 53 70 10.
