The Rome Index
Largo di Torre Argentina
Where Julius Caesar was assassinated — now a cat sanctuary among Republican-era temples.
The history
The four Republican-era temple ruins at Largo di Torre Argentina date from the 4th to 2nd centuries BC — some of the oldest intact temple remains in Rome. The adjacent Theatre of Pompey is where Julius Caesar was stabbed in 44 BC, at a meeting of the Senate being held there while the Curia was under repair.
The cats
The ruins have been home to Rome's largest cat colony for decades — several hundred cats live among the ancient temples, cared for by a volunteer organisation (Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary) that offers adoption and maintains a small clinic on site. Visitors can watch the cats from the surrounding walkways or descend into the excavation on a guided visit.
The museum
A small accessible walkway now allows visitors to walk through the excavation properly, opened in 2023 — worth the modest entry fee for the perspective it gives on the ruins' scale.
Why the site sat undeveloped for so long
The temple ruins were excavated in the 1920s during Mussolini-era urban redevelopment of the area, but the decision to preserve rather than build over them (sinking the site below modern street level as a visible archaeological area) reflects a specific Fascist-era interest in showcasing ancient Roman heritage as part of the regime's own propaganda linking itself to imperial greatness.
The cat sanctuary's official status
The volunteer-run cat sanctuary operating within the ruins has, over decades, achieved a degree of official recognition and cooperation with Roman archaeological authorities — a genuinely unusual example of an informal animal welfare initiative becoming integrated into the management of a significant ancient site.
