The portico of Octavia was created by Augustus (27-23 B.C.) who restructured the earlier portico of Metellus opposite the Circus Flaminius and rededicated the monument to his sister Octavia. The Metellan construction (146 B.C.) was the first quadriportico in the city. The great podium in opus quadratum and incertum is partially known. In its interior were the temples of Jupiter Statoris and Juno Regina.

The Augustan alterations virtually maintained the same dimensions but monumentalised the southern entrance which was enlarged by the addition of the propylaeum and a projecting structure in front of it.

Further restoration, also of a substantial nature, was carried out under Septimius Severus at the beginning of the 3rd century A.D.; most of the remains that are visible today are from that phase.
In the following centuries the area underwent great transformations linked to the use of the area for religious (in the 8th century the church of S. Angelo in Pescheria was founded) and civil purposes (the creation of the fish market).

The investigations undertaken in 2000-2001 clarified the dimensions and characteristics of the forepart of the Augustan podium. A large part of the 11th-12th century cemetery connected to the church was also uncovered. The tombs, mostly intact, in masonry or multiple earthen graves, belonged to individuals of various ages and were covered with stone slabs. The infant burials were grouped together in one sector.

There was no excavation in 2005 but static monitoring was undertaken on the propylaeum. (MiBAC)