My Travels

Visiting the Forum is free and it would be insane to visit Rome and not to walk through the Forum. There are some great books that have transparent overlays that overlap drawings of what the ruins originally looked like and what they look like now. I highly recommend getting one of these books. Being able to stand in front of what appears to be a pile of rubble and being able to imagine a row of marble columns with decorative friezes can really help bring the site alive.

The Forum is on lower ground than its surroundings, so over the centuries that it was unused, flooding in the hills would deposit sediment and refuse in the Forum. Much of the Forum was buried until the 1600s. Because of this change in the level of the "ground" it is sometimes difficult for the layman to determine if they are looking at foundations of an ancient building or the tops of the walls.

It is also important to remember that this site was in use for over a 1000 years. Buildings came and went. There were fires, renovations, political changes. Not everything that has been uncovered in the Forum was contemporary with everything else.

There is more than one entrance into the Forum. The most spectacular is to enter through the Arch of Septimus Severus. At the foot of the Capitoline hill, you will start at an elevation and climb down a long set of steps into the Forum. From this height you will be able to take some spectacular pictures. The Arch of Septimus Severus was completed in AD 203.

Next to the Arch of Septimus Severus is a remarkably intact building called the Curia Julia. The Curia Julia was a senate house. It has remained relatively intact because it was co-opted as a church in the 7th century AD and renamed the Church of Saint Adriano. This ecclesiastical protection extended to the Arch of Septimus Severus since it was so close. It needs to be understood that much of the destruction of ancient sites came not from fire or vandalism but in looting to reuse the materials for other buildings. As I mentioned in my post about the Colosseum, much of the marble in St. Peters was ripped from the walls of the Colosseum.

One thing that is not original on the Curia Julia is the pair of large bronze doors. But don't worry, I can tell you where to find the original doors. They were relocated to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, which is about a 20 minute walk south of the Colosseum.

If you enter the Forum from the other end, you will walk along the Via Sacra. The Via Sacra leads to the Colosseum. Many of the religious ruins in the Forum are on or about the Via Sacra.

When a military commander had a great victory, his return to Rome was part of a procession called a Roman Triumph. This procession was a grand parade that started on the outside of the city and entered the Forum by the Via Sacra.

Next to the Via Sacra is the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. This truly enormous building was the legal center of Rome. Only half of the Basilica still stands. It has huge vaulted ceilings that have to be seen to be fully appreciated. The Basilica was completed in about 312 AD.

Also along the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia, is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. It too was co-opted as a church (San Lorenzo in Miranda) and thus survived fairly intact. This temple was built in about AD 141 by the Emperor Antoninus Pius as a temple to his deified and deceased wife, Faustina. Antoninus' successor, the great Marcus Aurelius, rededicated the temple to both Faustina and her husband. The facade of the temple features ten remarkable Corinthian columns.

In the center of the Forum is a small round building with a modern roof. There is a plaque on that building that is titled Ara di Cesare - Altar of Caesar or commonly called the Temple of Caesar. In this dark little alcove is a rough pile of rock that is usually decorated with bundles of flowers. This altar was built to the deified Julius Caesar and is believed to be the site of his cremation.

Not so well preserved as the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is the Temple of Castor and Pollux. This temple dates back to the Republican era and was built to commemorate the battle of Lake Regillus which was won by the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and occurred in 495 BC. Much of the temple was destroyed by a fire in 14 BC. The temple was rebuilt by the Emperor Tiberius in 6 AD. The columns are from Tiberius' table. The podium is from an older version of the temple.

With a good guidebook to help you get your bearings, a walk through the Forum can and should be quite an impact. Here much of the foundations for our modern western civilization, our government systems and legal systems was figured out and tested right here. Emperors stood and spoke here. Merchants sold their goods. Citizens protested grievances. It is an incredibly important site. Visit in the morning, before the crowds come, and savor almost 3000 years of history and heritage.