The Contest is symbolised by a graphic reworking, using watercolour techniques, of the Ercole Olivario Temple. Located in the Forum of Boario, in front ot the church of S. Maria in Cosmedin, the monument is the most appropriate representation of the relationship that links the production of olive oil to its origins, to the ancient world’s most important archaeological and monumental testimonies, and to ancient classical culture itself.

Dedicated to the mythical god Hercules - the patron divinity of agriculture - the temple was built in the 1st century before Christ at the expense of the ancient Roman corporation of olive oil producers.

Their products, exported to every province in the empire, were loaded onto the ships moored along the docks of Imperial Rome’s most ancient port on the banks of the Tiber, and tacing the same building we see today Mistakenly called the Vesta Temple (because of its similarity to the circular shape of the Vesta Temple in Rome, unique in the empire), the temple is now called by its true name thanks to archaeological surveys and the annotation of literary references to it by Latin authors.

In the Middle Ages the temple was transformed into the church of S. Maria del Sole (St. Mary of the Sun). It was thus named because the structure’s round shape evoked the relationship between the sun and agricultural production. It was only in 1935 that the building  finally regained official recognition of its archaeological and monumental roots; its majestic fluted columns and precious Corinthian capitals make it the most significant example of classical Greek architecture present in Italy. The monument is one of only three Roman temples to have reached us intact; the other two are the nearby temple of Portunus and the Pantheon.