Il shrine of Hercules Victor located in Tivoli, was built in the 2nd century BC. It was an imposing structure, long in a very deteriorated state and whose restoration work was only completed in June 2011. It stood on a stretch of the ancient Tiburtine road and important portions of the complex were incorporated into the former paper mill of Tivoli (underneath the medieval district).
The shrine, rectangular in plan (188 x 140 m), originally measured 3000 m2 and consists of three main parts: the theater, which takes advantage of the natural slope of the land, a large square with porticoes, and the temple itself. A series of terraces, porticoes and colonnades created a grandiose setting around the place of worship, according to the tastes of the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The shrine was located outside the city walls, along the road that in ancient times connected Samnium to the Roman plain and represented a crucial economic hub for all the populations of central-southern Italy.
The ancient city of Tivoli identified itself with the cult of Hercules (Herculaneum Tibur) precisely because of its strategic position, and worshipped him both as a warrior god (who had allowed the historic victory over the Volsci), and as protector of trade and the transhumance of flocks, a fundamental activity for the original city economy. The cult of Hercules, one of the most important in Lazio, originated in Tivoli and tradition holds that it was exported to Rome in the late Republican age by Marcus Octavius Herennius.
The temple housed a college of musicians (tibicines) among the most important and well-attended in Italy. The dances and songs of the cult were celebrated in the month of August. The structure of the temple, with the theater resting on the hill dominated by the sacred place itself, has many affinities with the nearby and contemporary sacred area of the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia in Palestrina, still well preserved and visitable.
Opening hours of the Sanctuary of Hercules Victorious
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM from January 2 to February 29
11:00 AM – 6:30 PM during the month of March *
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM from the last Sunday of March to September 30
11:00 AM – 6:30 PM during the month of October **
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM from the last Sunday of October to December 31 *
From the last Sunday of March, with the start of daylight saving time, hours 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM **
From the last Sunday of October, with the return to standard time, hours 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
It is possible to arrange visits before opening hours (from 9:00 AM) only for groups, with mandatory reservation. The Sanctuary of Hercules Victorious is closed on January 1 and December 25, except for special openings under the MiBAC project.
