The temple of Minerva is considered one of the most important sites in northern Italy for its particular combination of scientific interest and environmental combination and it is located right in Valpolicella!

The 1st century AD temple had already been brought to light, on the southern slope of Monte Castelon, by Count Giovanni Girolamo Orti Manara, a scholar of local antiquities, who put forward the hypothesis of a possible relationship between the toponym Minerbe (now San Rocco) and the presence of a sacred place dedicated to the Roman goddess Minerva, thanks also to the testimonies of some locals. So it was that the painter Giuseppe Razzetti, commissioned by the Count himself, made a drawing of the plan of the building (now preserved in the Civic Museum).
However, despite the accurate description of the finds, the location of the finding was not accurately indicated. Furthermore, due to an inaccurate method of investigation, precious testimonies have been lost.

So it was only in a2007 that the temple on rediscovered following memory recovery operation that involved the entire population of Marano and that allowed, following the oral tradition, to identify the exact point where to dig to bring out the archaeological site.

The del Tempio di Minerva is an interesting example fanum, that is, an extra-urban sanctuary, which contains three important stratifications of historical phases: an imperial-age temple, one of late-republican age and a votive stake of the Iron Age.
The complex is built on a terrace created along the slope of the mountain by cutting the rocky wall; its dimensions are 8m x 7.5m.

The excavation revealed traces of a protohistoric cult area and a late Republican temple below the structures initially visible.
Excavations are still in progress, but the structure can be visited.

The visits has a free contribution that will be used to finance the enhancement projects of the archaeological area and may also be conducted in English and German