Photo: Livioandronico2013 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Santuario di Portonaccio

Extra-urban Etruscan sanctuary at the gates of ancient Veii, in the Parco archeologico di Veio, where the Apollo of Veii was found.

Temporarily closed

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Temporarily closed. The park is closed to the public: the Via Francigena road between the Mola di Isola Farnese and the Villa Romana di Campetti, its only access route, has been closed to traffic by ordinance no. T00008 of 13 February 2026. The museum states that it is working to resolve the problem.

About the museum

The sanctuary of Portonaccio stood just outside the walls of the ancient Etruscan city of Veii, north of Rome, and was among the most revered places of worship in Etruria. It was frequented from the mid-7th century BC until the Roman age, in the 2nd century BC; its definitive form dates to the mid-5th century BC.

The oldest nucleus, in the eastern part of the tuff hill, was dedicated to Menerva (Minerva), venerated as protector of young people and as an oracular deity; here stood a small single-cella temple of about 540–530 BC. Around 510 BC the temple of Apollo, with three cellae and decorated with painted terracotta statues, was built on the western part; a large basin fed by underground channels lay to the west of the temple.

Excavations of 1916 brought to light the roof statues (acroteria), including Apollo, Hermes and Heracles, now kept in the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia. On site can be seen the altar of Menerva and the base of the three-cella temple, shown with a reconstruction from the early 1990s. Since 2024 the park has been managed by the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia.