Flickr photo of the day: Remains of an empire

Made of Egyptian granite and marble, the Temple of Saturn was built at the western end of the Forum (the center of Roman public life) in 497 BC to honor the Roman god of agriculture. It served as both temple and treasury. Damaged by fire some 800 years later, it was restored around 370 AD, in resistance to the influx of Christianity into the Eternal City.

This photo of the remains of the temple, taken by British photographer Paul Mercer, offers a poignant tribute to the ancient nation-state of Rome, once the mightiest on Earth.

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