Shrine of Hercules Curinus
Shrine of Hercules Curinus (Santuario di Ercole Curino) is an ancient Italic and later Roman sanctuary in Sulmona, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The name Curinus, also Quirinus, was given to other gods in the Republican era. Quirinus is linked to Romulus and symbolized the unity of Rome’s early communities.
In 89 BC, at the end of the Social War, the sanctuary was expanded from a local shrine into a large terrace sanctuary, similar to Fortuna Primigenia in Palestrina or Hercules Victor in Tibur. The upper part was later buried by a landslide around the 2nd century AD. A Christian church was added nearby in the later era, near the southern stairway.
The big southern staircase may have served as a monumental entrance and meeting place under the protection of Curinus. The sanctuary has two terraces built in different periods: the lower terrace is newer, made of opus caementicium, with a grand podium 71 meters long and 14 vaulted rooms. The upper terrace (presillano) was enclosed on three sides by a colonnaded portico, with some bases surviving. In the center of the upper terrace stood an altar covered with bronze plates and a small sacellum for the god.
Among the most important finds are two cult statues of Hercules—one in bronze (now in the Archaeological Museum of Chieti) and one in marble—and a small column bearing 12 verses in graffiti attributed to Ovid.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:13 (CET).