Temple of Saturn

One of the oldest temples in the Forum, originally dedicated around 497 BC; the surviving eight columns belong to a late-4th-century AD rebuild after fire. The temple housed the aerarium, Rome's state treasury, where gold and silver reserves and bronze law tablets were kept under the podium. It was also the religious focus of Saturnalia (December 17–23), the chaotic week-long festival of role reversal, gift-giving, and feasting that became the distant ancestor of Christmas.