In Palestrina, the ancient Praeneste, not far from San Vito Romano, stands one of the grandest complexes of Roman republican architecture: the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia. Built in the 2nd century BC, the sanctuary unfolds across six enormous artificial terraces carved into the slope of Monte Ginestro, connected by ramps and staircases and supported by imposing substructures in polygonal masonry and opus incertum - a genuine engineering feat for its time.
The complex was dedicated to the cult of Fortuna Primigenia, the “first-born” goddess, primordial daughter of Jupiter, whose oracle was among the most consulted in ancient Italy: worshippers questioned their fate through the sortes, wooden lots drawn by a child symbolizing Jupiter as a boy, kept in an olive-wood chest. On the fourth terrace stood the sacred well with the statue of the goddess nursing Jupiter and Juno; on the sixth and highest terrace, a semicircular theatre and a small circular temple.
On the remains of the uppermost terrace stands today’s Palazzo Colonna Barberini, which since 1956 has housed the Prenestine Archaeological Museum. Among its rooms is the most celebrated piece: the Nile Mosaic, a floor mosaic from the 1st century BC nearly six metres long, depicting in extraordinary detail the course of the Nile from Ethiopia to the Mediterranean, populated with Egyptian soldiers and priests, exotic animals and scenes of daily life - a unique testimony to ancient Rome’s fascination with Ptolemaic Egypt.
Still today, Palestrina, with its monumental terraces overlooking the Sacco valley, remains one of the most important archaeological destinations in Lazio, able to tell in a single place both the grandeur of Roman engineering and the richness of trade across the ancient Mediterranean.
Opening hours and contacts
The museum and the sanctuary are open from Wednesday to Monday; they are closed on Tuesdays.
- Museo Archeologico Nazionale Prenestino: 9:00 am – 7:30 pm, last entry at 6:30 pm;
- Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, from the last Sunday of March to the last Saturday of October: 9:30 am – 6:30 pm;
- Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, from the last Sunday of October to the last Saturday of March: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm.
At the sanctuary, last entry is half an hour before closing. Admission is free on the first Sunday of the month, 25 April, 2 June and 4 November.
Phone: +39 06 9538100
Email: mupa-prae-gabi@cultura.gov.it
Address: Piazza della Cortina, Palestrina (Rome)
Opening hours may change, especially on public holidays: it is best to check them before setting off.
Sources for opening hours and contacts: Musei e Parchi archeologici di Praeneste e Gabii - official website and the Italian Ministry of Culture (checked in October 2026).
Photo: Sergio D’Afflitto (Blackcat) and Camelia.boban, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.