Identification: Porticus Pompeianae The Renaissance engraver of Cod. Vat. Lat. 3439 clearly understood that this now missing fragment 37b aligned with fr. 37a (see PM 1960, pl. 5, nos. 2 and 4). The missing fragment shows the SE corner of the porticus Pompeia (Prop. 2.32.11), or Pompeianae (Vitr. 5.9.1)(PM 1960, pp. 103-104, pl. 32; AG 1980, pl. 28; LTUR IV, p. 148). Part of the latter name may be visible in the now missing fr. 39d (see PM 1960, pl. 32). The porticus was one of the components of Pompey's immense theater complex in the Campus Martius, constructed as a whole and inaugurated in 55 BCE (LTUR IV, p. 148) or 52 BCE (Richardson 1992, p. 318). Other parts of the porticus Pompeia(nae) are visible in frs. 37a (missing), 37d, 37e, 37l, 39ac, 39b, 39d (missing), and 39g (PM 1960, p. 103, pl. 32; AG 1980, p. 148, pls. 28 and 32). In addition to the porticus, the complex comprised a theater and temples (see frs. 39de and 39f for more info on the temples and on the theater itself). Vitruvius (5.9.1) explains that Pompey built the porticus behind the theater as a shelter for the spectators in the case of rain, as a place for them to relax and converse, and as a storage area for stage machinery (LTUR IV, p. 148; Richardson 1992, p. 318). According to ancient authors, the porticus was one of the most popular places in Rome to gather and stroll, as fountains, trees, and expensive art works created an atmosphere of luxury and relaxation, (Richardson 1992, p. 318). The exedrae visible in the back wall of the porticus in this fragment and fr. 37a may have held statues or other pieces of art. Food was probably sold in the shops and stalls behind the S wall of the porticus, seen in the missing fr. 39de, and public latrines, visible in fr. 37a, added to the overall comfort of the visitor.

Identification: Temples C and D in the Largo Argentina The corner of a building in the top right corner of this fragment has been identified as the SW corner of Temple C, one of the four Republican temples in the sacred area of the Largo Agentina (PM 1960, pp. 103, 130; AG 1980, p. 130, pl. 28; see LTUR II, fig. 97, for a plan of all four structures). The NW corner of the temple is visible in fr. 37d. Excavations in the area have demonstrated that Temple C was a platform temple, peripteral sine postico, as represented in this and in fr. 37b. Note that the Renaissance engraver rendered the N wall of the temple correctly with a double line but that the intercolumniations are irregularly spaced unlike those of the S wall, seen in fr. 37d. The large rectangular structure in the bottom right corner of the missing fragment 37b has been identified as Temple D. As seen in this drawing, the temple was simple structure that consisted of an uncolonnaded cella on a platform (Richardson 1992, pp. 33-35). Temples A and B appear in fr. 37a. The identification of the four temples is still disputed, but Temple C is perhaps to be associated with the aedes Feronia (LTUR II, pp. 247-48) and Temple D with the aedes Lares Permarini (LTUR III, pp. 174-75) or a temple to Iuppiter Fulgur (Richardson 1992, pp. 35, 219).

Identification: Porticus Minucia Vetus(?) In 1968, L. Cozza identified the great porticus east of the Largo Argentina as the Porticus Minucia or Minicia (Cozza 1968). Remains of this porticus, which was bordered by the Diribitorium to the north and by the Theater and Crypta Balbi to the south, were excavated underneath the Via delle Botteghe Oscure. Cozza's identification of the quadriporticus under the Via delle Botteghe Oscure as the Porticus Minucia did not solve all the problems of this enigmatic building, however. While most ancient sources refer to the Porticus Minucia as a single structure, the Regionary Catalogues lists two buildings by the name of Porticus Minucia in Regio IX: The porticus Minucia Vetus and the porticus Minucia Frumentaria (LTUR IV, p. 137). The older structure, the Porticus Minucia Vetus, which is known to have enclosed the Temple to the Lares Permarini and contained a statue of Hercules, was dedicated by M. Minucius Rufus, consul in 110 BCE, and completed in 100 BCE. It was repaired by Domitian, probably after the fire in 80 CE (LTUR IV, p. 137). The Porticus Minucia Frumentaria, sometimes referred to as the "new" Porticus Minucia, was a center for grain distribution, probably built in the Claudian period, and it is known to have had 44 ostia, or openings (LTUR IV, p. 134). Scholars are still disputing whether to identify the porticus under the Via delle Botteghe Oscure as the Porticus Minucia Vetus or the Frumentaria. Stressing that there must have been two structures situated next to each other (one perhaps being an extension of the other), scholars like F. Coarelli (1968), C. Nicolet (1976), and E. Rodríguez-Almeida (AG 1980) associate the porticus that surrounds the Republican temples in the Largo Argentina, visible in this fragment, with the Porticus Minucia Vetus; they suggest that Temple D in the Largo Argentina is the Temple to the Lares Permarini; and they identify the quadriporticus underneath the Via delle Botteghe Oscure with the Porticus Minucia Frumentaria and the temple inside it with the Temple to the Nymphs (LTUR IV, p. 132, with bibliographical references; AG 1980, p. 122; Coarelli 1997). Others, such as Castagnoli (1946 and 1984), G. Rickman (1983), L. Richardson (1992, pp. 315-16), and F. Zevi (1993) follow Cozza's lead and associate the Botteghe Oscure porticus with the Porticus Minucia Vetus and the temple in its center with that of the Lares Permarini (LTUR IV, pp. 132-33, with bibliographical references). Emphasizing the utilitarian nature of the Frumentaria with its 44 ostia, they disassociate this building with the two traditional porticus-type buildings in the Largo Argentina and under the Via delle Botteghe Oscure, and situate it elsewhere in Rome.
The rectangular feature with apsidal "legs" on either side has been exposed through excavation and seems to have been some kind of colonnaded entrance into the SW corner of the area of the four temples (see LTUR II, fig. 97).

Significance Excavations in the area of the Largo Argentina have revealed the four Republican temples, a sliver of the E end of Pompey's portico, and the narrow space between the two areas. The excavations show that certain features on the Marble Plan, such as the architecture of the individual temples, were rendered correctly while others were not. Together with frs. 37b and 37d, this missing fragment represents two inconsistencies: First of all, Pompey's portico is here shown incorrectly as being parallel to the rectangular area of the Largo Argentina (see LTUR II, fig. 97). Secondly, in these fragments the backs of Temples A, B, and C line up while D is set further back. Excavations have revealed, however, that Temple C did not align with A and B but was set further back, between C and D (PM 1960, p. 104)). This kind of "straightening up" of architecture is not uncommon on the Plan; the most quoted example is the Temple of the Deified Claudius which has been rotated almost 20 degrees from its correct position.

Text by Tina Najbjerg