You pass through an entryway two columns deep and four columns across and enter into a huge temple precinct. The precinct sits on a concrete platform 145 m long and 100 m wide built into the slope of the Velian Hill. This temple complex has an unusual design, as you can see from this reconstruction drawing. Behind you to the left and right is a long row of grey granite columns with white marble bases, part of the double colonnade that stretches along the north side of the Via Sacra. In front of you rises the massive side wall of the temple, and you see that you will have to walk around the temple to the northeast or northwest to enter the building from either end.
You recognize the building as the Temple of Venus and Roma, which Hadrian constructed from his own design in 121 CE. To make room for this massive temple, he had to destroy the entrance court of the Domus Aurea and move the Colossus (the giant statue of the sun god Sol) closer to the Colosseum. You can see the Colossus and the Colosseum below the Temple of Venus and Roma in the photograph of the model. Only the podium of the temple built by Hadrian remains, for the temple was destroyed by fire in 307 and rebuilt by Maxentius.
Pronaos of Venus