Lac de Nemi et bois sacré de Diane

Nemi

Lake Nemi fills an ancient volcanic crater of the Alban Hills. The ancient commentator Servius calls it the ‘mirror of Diana’, because it reflected the moon. On the north shore, a wood and a sanctuary were consecrated to Diana Nemorensis. According to the official site italia.it, the place was frequented from the Middle Bronze Age, and a first wooden temple with terracotta decoration was built in the 4th century BC. The most visible remains date from the late 2nd century BC and are stepped on three terraces towards the lake. Ancient texts describe a startling rite: Strabo and Pausanias say that the priest, called the ‘king of the wood’, was a fugitive slave who had killed his predecessor in combat. Suetonius tells that Caligula had an adversary paid to face the priest then in office. The sanctuary yielded small bronze statuettes, offerings in the form of eyes, feet and hands in terracotta and bronze, and even surgical instruments. Many pieces, excavated in 1885, are shared among Copenhagen, Philadelphia, Boston and Nottingham. James Frazer's interpretation of the ‘golden bough’ remains a scholarly hypothesis, not a proof.

italia.it — Le sanctuaire de Diane Nemorensis ↗

Getting there: Via del Tempio di Diana, at Nemi (Castelli Romani, south-east of Rome). The site lies on the north shore of the lake, below the village. Opening times and prices have not been verified. Coordinates taken from Wikipedia (temple of Diana).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound