The Porticus Octaviae was constructed in the Campus Martius between 33 and 23 BCE, possibly commissioned by Augustus in honor of his sister Octavia or by Octavia herself. The complex included a library and a senate house and was closely linked to Octavia and her son. It was damaged by a fire in 80 CE and restored by emperor Domitian, but a significant restoration occurred in 203 CE under emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla, as noted in an inscription on the propylon.

Culturally, the Porticus Octaviae may have featured statues of notable mothers, reflecting traditional Roman values. The restoration included the re-erection of a statue of Cornelia, symbolizing the ideal mother, which further enhanced the porticus's association with familial and moral ideals.

On the Severan period marble plan, Forma Urbis Romae the complex is hard to read, though depicted surprisingly in a complete form.

circa 146 BCE- 800 CE

Republic Period
Following his triumph in 146 BCE for his victory at Scarpheia during the Achaean War, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus commissioned the construction of a portico around M. Aemilius Lepidus's Temple of Juno Regina. This complex, located near the Circus Flaminius in the southern Campus Martius, also included a newly built Temple of Jupiter Stator. Metellus adorned the structures with equestrian statues of Alexander the Great’s generals, which he brought back from Greece. This architectural ensemble became known as the Portico of Metellus (Porticus Metelli) or the Portico of Caecilius (Porticus Caecilii), marking one of the significant public building projects of the late Republic.

Imperial Period
Under Augustus, the portico and its temples were extensively refurbished and rededicated to his sister, Octavia the Younger, sometime after 27 BCE. Cassius Dio suggested that the rededication occurred in 33 BCE, possibly confusing it with the adjacent Portico of Octavius, which was also renovated under Augustus. The refurbished complex, now called the Portico of Octavia, was expanded to include a Greek and Latin library, erected by Octavia in memory of her son, Marcus Claudius Marcellus. The complex also housed an assembly hall (Curia Octaviae) and lecture rooms (scholae), which may have been different sections of one structure or entirely separate buildings. The Roman Senate occasionally met in the curia, and the entire complex was praised by Pliny the Elder as the "works of Octavia" (Octaviae opera).

The portico suffered significant damage in the fire of 80 CE and was subsequently restored, likely under Domitian. Another major fire in 203 CE led to further restoration by Septimius Severus and Caracalla. During these restorations, the structure was embellished with foreign marble and housed an array of famous artworks, as documented in Pliny's Natural History.

Medieval and Later Periods
The Portico of Octavia sustained additional damage due to an earthquake in 442 CE, which resulted in the destruction of several columns. Two of these were replaced with an archway that remains standing today. By the 8th century, the ruined structure had been repurposed; around 770 CE, the church of Sant’Angelo in Pescheria was constructed within its remains. The name of the church reflects the portico’s role as a medieval and early modern fish market. Over time, the area became the center of the medieval Roman Ghetto, symbolizing its continued occupation and adaptation long after the fall of the Roman Empire.

circa 30 BCE

The Porticus Octaviae began as a single wing along the Circus Flaminius, known as the Porticus Octavia. It was later expanded into a peristyle with the addition of the Porticus Metelli about twenty-five years later. During Augustus's time, these two parts remained distinct, and he restored the Porticus Octavia, which contributed to the belief that he financed the Porticus Octaviae.

The Porticus Octaviae featured a double file of columns on at least the front and sides, with the front open except at the ends. It included a central propylaeum that was architecturally distinct from the colonnades, and the area behind the temples was designed with a symmetrical arrangement of curvilinear and rectilinear forms.

The porticus consisted of a double file of columns on at least the front and sides, the front open, except at the ends, interrupted by a central propylaeum architecturally distinct from the colonnades. The sides are closed by walls lying deep behind the colonnades, that on the northwest broken by at least two small exedras, one semi-circular, the other rectangular.