Sanctuary of Venus at Hispellum

The ancient Sanctuary of Venus at Hispellum (modern Spello) was a grandiose theatre-temple-amphitheatre complex, today located partially in the grounds of the Villa Fidelia to the northwest of the city.

It was located outside the walls of the ancient city on a slope near the bottom of the Spello hill facing west as part of an impressive monumental layout.

[1] Under Augustus, monumentalisation was greatly enhanced with inclusion of the theatre, amphitheatre etc., on a Hellenistic sanctuary model, as at Tibur and Praenesta and other sites in Lazio.

[3] This remodelling was referred to in the inscription[4] found in the 1600s commemorating the commissioning of a statue to Venus by the duumvirs Marcus Granius and Sextus Lollius following a decree of the decurions of Hispellum.

Remains in opus mixtum found below the small church of San Fedele near the Villa Fidelia seem to have belonged to this third temple dating from the 4th century AD.

The temple was probably that referred to in the rescript of Constantine as a precondition to the partial transfer of the annual Umbrian festival that had previously been held at Volsinii.

Therefore, the theatre and the sanctuary could have formed part of Augustus's programme to pacify the neighbours of Hispellum after the land appropriation and other wounds inflicted in the Perusine War of 41 BC.

Remains of thermal baths were found in excavations in 2001-3 beneath the nearby church of San Claudio, including geometric mosaic floors and heated rooms.