A sanctuary on terraces and the Nile Mosaic
Palestrina, ancient Praeneste, lies on the slopes of a mountain east of Rome. In the second century BC the city built one of the largest sanctuaries of the ancient world, the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, a gigantic structure of terraces, ramps and porticoes that climbed the hillside like a stage set, where people came to consult the oracle of the goddess.
The medieval town was built over the terraces, and its houses still follow their lines. At the top, the Palazzo Colonna Barberini, built over the highest part of the sanctuary, houses the National Archaeological Museum, whose treasure is the Nile Mosaic, a huge floor mosaic of the late second century BC showing the flooding of the Nile, from the mountains of Ethiopia to the delta, with animals, hunters, temples and boats. Palestrina is also the birthplace of the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Tip: from the museum terrace the view sweeps over the plain to the sea; the town centre has a fine cathedral and the composer's birthplace.
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