In the heart of Rome, and beside one of the seven wonders of the world, the Roman Forum remains one of the most visited attractions in the historical city and in the world.
The Forum is a rectangular plaza, full of ancient ruins of important government buildings that were once the center of operations of the Roman Empire. The Roman Forum attracts over 4.5 million visitors a year and here’s why you should add it to your Rome itinerary.
1) Most of the buildings were destroyed in 410 AD, during the fall of the Roman Empire.
Remains of the heart of the Roman Empire
2) The forum was used by Rome’s elite for over 1400 years starting in 800 BC right through to 600 AD.
A site used for 1400 years
3) The Roman Forum remained undiscovered right up until archaeologist Carlo Fea came along in 1803.
Re-discovered in 1803
4) Excavations to clear the Roman Forum took over 100 years eventually leading to full excavation in the 20th century.
Open to visitors in the 20th century
5) Buildings in the Forum include banks, temples, public baths, and markets as well as state operational hubs.
Structures were built over centuries
6) The name derived from the Roman reference to a central square within an urban area, Foro (Forum).
Foro, Italian for an urban retreat
7) The Temple of Saturn contained the money and accounts of the state finances during the Roman rule.
The heart of power
8) The Roman Forum covered an area of 250 meters x 170 meters.
A mass of land in the center of Rome
9) Some temples were built to honor great men and some were constructed to honor religious gods.
Many surviving memorials
10) The ruins within the forum stem over a period of several centuries as standard Roman practice built over earlier ruins.
Ruins on top of ruins
11) You can bag yourself a triple ticket for the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and Palatine Hill for €12 (free for children)
Bargain entry for a whole lot of history
12) The Temple of Venus and Rome was built in 135 AD and measured 100 x 145 meters. It was the largest religious structure ever built in Rome.
Some of the largest structures in Rome
13) The Senate House gave the Roman Forum the status of being the most important fora in Rome, there are many others.
The most important fora
14) The rostra was the platform next to the curia (Church) and was used by orators to speak to citizens of Rome. Julius Caesar went to great lengths to maintain the rostra and had it re-built in marble. Marc Antony was said to have delivered his funeral speech to Caesar from the rostra.
Julius Caesar constructed most of the Forum
15) After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman Forum became known as ‘Campo Vaccino’ (cattle field) as it became a derelict and overgrown with marsh.
Built on top of a marsh field
16) Via Sacra is one of the most important roads in the world and can be found in the Forum. The road was used to transport emperors to their coronations and to transport the returning army.
All roads lead to Rome
17) Romans drained the site of the Forum using one of the world’s earliest sewage systems, the Cloaca Maxima.
Early technologies were born here
18) Three arches were built within the Forum. The first by Augustus in 29 BC f which nothing remains, the second was the Arch of Titus in 81 AD, and the Arch of Septimius Severus from 203 AD.
Two of three arches built
19) Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus built most of the structures present in the Forum.
See the work of Julius Caesar and Augustus
20) Historians believed that the ground of the Forum was once an Etruscan burial area.
Once a burial area?
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Did we miss anything?
We have derived this list from personal experience after spending a day in the Roman Forum. We probably missed a lot more!
We’d love to evolve this list and we invite you to leave your suggestions in the comments below.
We hope you enjoy the beautiful city of Rome, let us know what you enjoyed the most.
