Rome

• 

Roman Forum

During the early years of the Republic, this was an open space with shops and a few temples, and it sufficed; but by the second century BC ever-conquering Rome needed to give an impression of authority and wealth. Out went the food stalls; in came the law courts, offices and immense public buildings with grandiose decorations. The Foro romano remained the symbolic heart of the empire, and emperors continued to embellish it until the fourth century AD. Entering from the Colosseum, the Forum is framed by the Arch of Titus (AD 81), built to celebrate the sack of Jerusalem. To the right are the towering ruins of the basilica di Massenzio, completed in 312. Along the via Sacra, the Forum’s high street, are (right) the great columns of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina; the giant Basilica Emilia (right) – once a bustling place for administration, courts and business; the Curia, the home of the Senate, which was begun in 45 BC by Julius Caesar; and the Arch of Septimius Severus, built in AD 203. Beside the arch are the remains of an Imperial rostra, from which Mark Antony supposedly asked the Romans to lend him their ears.

• Did you find this useful? Yes No
• 

      

---