College of the Augustales
College of the Augustales
4.5
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Plan your visit
The area
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
770 within 5 kms
Attractions
706 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
71 reviews
Excellent
53
Very good
17
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1
macedonboy
Glasgow, UK185,662 contributions
Oct 2019
This is the Collegial Shrine of the August of the Roman gods. As the name suggests, it’s a religious building with several rooms that are in a good state. The building seems to have been built over two storeys. The largest of the rooms has an upper floor with charred wooden beams supporting a platform around the walls of the room. I thought it was super awesome that the original structure had been preserved in this way. There’s also several interesting frescoes inside including one of Hercules between Juno and Minerva. This is one of the best things to see inside the Herculaneum archaeological site.
Written 23 May 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brun066
Florence, Italy13,366 contributions
Oct 2022
The Sacerdotes Augustales ("Priests of Augustus") were a priestly college established by the emperor Tiberius in 14 AD. to maintain the cult of the recently deceased emperor Augustus and his family, the Gens Iulia. They were present in the Roman world in every city of some importance, and even in smaller cities, such as Herculaneum.
The panel affixed to the premises explains that the Augustales effectively became an intermediate institution, open to the co-optation of members of plebeian origin (in the case of Herculaneum, "liberti", i.e. freed slaves): in short, a sort of "social elevator".
None of the sites of Augustales among those found can even remotely boast the state of conservation of this one in Herculaneum. Place intended for college meetings, it obviously has a different structure from that of the dwellings: it looks like a quadrangular building, divided into three small naves by two pairs of mighty columns. What is considered the caretaker's bedroom is annexed. The frescoes on the walls of the central "sacellum", in the so-called "fourth style", and the polychrome marble floors are particularly well preserved; just as the main and minor beams of the architraves and ceilings are preserved (although charred).
The conservation of wood is a characteristic of Herculaneum compared to Pompeii, and it occurred because Herculaneum was covered by a layer (which is enormous, 20 meters high) not of "dry" lapilli and ashes, as in Pompeii, but saturated with water, which due to the lack of oxygen it did not allow the wood to burn.
So this building commands attention among the wonders of Herculaneum.
The panel affixed to the premises explains that the Augustales effectively became an intermediate institution, open to the co-optation of members of plebeian origin (in the case of Herculaneum, "liberti", i.e. freed slaves): in short, a sort of "social elevator".
None of the sites of Augustales among those found can even remotely boast the state of conservation of this one in Herculaneum. Place intended for college meetings, it obviously has a different structure from that of the dwellings: it looks like a quadrangular building, divided into three small naves by two pairs of mighty columns. What is considered the caretaker's bedroom is annexed. The frescoes on the walls of the central "sacellum", in the so-called "fourth style", and the polychrome marble floors are particularly well preserved; just as the main and minor beams of the architraves and ceilings are preserved (although charred).
The conservation of wood is a characteristic of Herculaneum compared to Pompeii, and it occurred because Herculaneum was covered by a layer (which is enormous, 20 meters high) not of "dry" lapilli and ashes, as in Pompeii, but saturated with water, which due to the lack of oxygen it did not allow the wood to burn.
So this building commands attention among the wonders of Herculaneum.
Written 3 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wendyanddavid536
Solihull, UK2,123 contributions
May 2018 • Couples
One of the most impressive buildings in Herculaneum, it was the centre for the cult of the Emperor Augustus. Contained within are some amazingly beautiful and well preserved frescoes, including on of Hercules fighting Achelous. There is also an impressive dedication tablet on one wall.
Even though this place is large, it is very popular with tour groups so can get very crowded.
Even though this place is large, it is very popular with tour groups so can get very crowded.
Written 28 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Spmmik53
Purley, UK644 contributions
Sept 2020
Not totally destroyed and lost by the eruption of Vesuvius. Preserved in the volcanic muds that enveloped the city.
Written 28 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
alan
Liverpool, UK162 contributions
Sept 2019
This is one of the more impressive buidings on the Herculaneum site. It is up at the top of the first street on the left as you go into the site. It gives an impression of just how grand the public buildings would have been in Herculaneum.
Sadly, the forum and all of the main public buildings like the Basilica and the various Temples are all still buried under the massive wall-like cliff that runs along the top of the site, with the modern town sitting on top of it. Still, it gives a good impression of how much rock and debris had to be uncovered to get down to the 25% or so of ancient Herculaneum that has been uncovered so far.
Sadly, the forum and all of the main public buildings like the Basilica and the various Temples are all still buried under the massive wall-like cliff that runs along the top of the site, with the modern town sitting on top of it. Still, it gives a good impression of how much rock and debris had to be uncovered to get down to the 25% or so of ancient Herculaneum that has been uncovered so far.
Written 17 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Levannah
Hendersonville, NC832 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
Be sure you see this during your visit to the Ercolano ruins. This temple celebrated the cult of the emperor, all Emperors. The inscription was dedicated to two brothers who had shouldered the expense of the building project. Undertaking this good deed served to enhance the social position of the benefactors, even if they had started their lives as slaves. The Romans did practice upward social mobility, a fact often forgotten about today.
Written 16 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
franc0decker
Rome, Italy94 contributions
Dec 2016 • Friends
This is a magnificent building, the largest to be visited in Herculaneum, dedicated to worshipping of the emperor Augustus, built maybe by a club of affluent freed slaves ("liberti"). The most prominent features are the well conservated ‘fourth style’ frescoes: on the left wall is depicted the entrance of Hercules in the Olympus, accompanied by Jupiter, in the form of a rainbow, Juno and Minerva; the one on the right alludes instead to the battle between Hercules and the Etruscan god Acheloo. The roof has been rebuilt in such a way that it allows a lot of daylight to filter in, as it was probably in the original monument. Stop for a while, and look not only at the frescoes, but at an inscription now placed on the wall, that reminds us that this building, dedicated to Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.) while still living, was built by the brothers A. Lucius Proculus and A. Lucius Iulianus.
Written 18 January 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael K
San Jose, CA1,107 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
We read about this place before the trip and was looking forward to seeing it, but unfortunately it was not open to the public when we visited.
Written 30 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Isabelle C
New York City, NY231 contributions
Mar 2017
If you want to go, go soon! To my surprise the area is relatively accessible by visitors, and I think the preservations will not last too much longer. You can see and touch a lot of the painting/frescos etc, and it's pretty surreal. Skip the guided tour and get the audio guide - cheaper and at your own pace.
Written 9 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travel R
Rochester, MN2,028 contributions
June 2023 • Family
Well intact wall art and even some of the original wooden structural beams remain. Along with stone carving.
Written 8 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing