You see a completely round room in the center of which is a hearth with a fire burning upon it. Votive gifts lined are lined on the circular wall. There is a curtain along one part of the wall that screens off a section of the cella. This is the penus, the sacred storeroom, that contains the sacred objects of the cult. You are not allowed to enter here, unless you are a priestess of the goddess. The priestesses open this part of the temple on June 9, during the Vestalia, the festival in honor of the goddess, in order to clean the entire temple. During this time, no public business can be conducted, until the dirt from the cleaning is disposed of at the end of the festival on June 15.
From behind the curtain of the penus, a priestess steps out and goes over to the hearth to tend the fire.
Porch of the Temple of Vesta