The Roman Forum – A Must-See Attraction When In Rome
What may be one of the top archaeological locations in the world is located in a valley just between Capitoline Hill and Palatine Hill in Italy, and it is known as the Forum Romanum or the Roman Forum. Even before the first century AD, this valley was a hot bed of political and cultural life for citizens of the Roman Empire.
It is hard to imagine that the original Roman Forum was under construction for 300 years but by the 7th century BC, it was central to everything important that happened in Roman culture. It finally reached a completed state under the reign of Julius Caesar’s son Octavian, in the early first Century AD.
Called the Forum Magnum (or Great Forum) by many, the Roman Forum had a dozen temples, plenty of arches and a multitude of other structures. It was built on marsh land (drained, of course!) and provided a central location for Romans to conduct business, administration and socialise with each other.
After the infamous fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, the Roman Forum went into decay due to lack of upkeep. By the time the Middle Ages came along, farmers grazing their cattle on the site had little awareness of the significance of the site. It wasn’t until the Renaissance that historians discovered the Forum again. A project to restore and repair the Roman Forum was undertaken in the 18th century and that project is still active to this day.
Today if you did get to tour the restored parts of the Roman Forum, the greatness of those buildings would be evident in the vast assortment of buildings.
Teams of volunteers and archaeologies have restored the paved streets and cleaned up the debris left by centuries of decay so the Forum can be enjoyed by you and I. But if you include the Roman Forum in your tourist plans, it will take more than a day to see this vast facility. But even a few hours at the site will give you a real feel for what life at the height of Rome’s might must have been like.
To get an idea of the ambitious scale that the Romans always brought to projects of this size, one just has to look at the “Temple of Venus and Roma”. This massive temple in the Forum was designed and built by Emperor Hadrian himself, and from a vantage point on a tall plateau, it has a perfect view of the majestic Colosseum.
Just as impressive is the Temple of Concord. In 367 this temple that was dedicated to peace took its place in the western quadrant of the Forum. At the peak of the Forum’s glory, this temple was full of expensive statues made of silver and gold. Even after restoration today, it is striking evidence of the skills and abilities of the Roman builders.
There are dozens of other structures to explore in the Forum, including the Temples of Pollux, Saturn, Vepasian and Castor. When combined with the huge diversity of buildings, you can get a real feel for what the Roman architects and emperors wanted from this ambitious project. But the Forum is about so much more than just a collection of temples.
Many of the walkways are lined with arches, including the Arch of Septimus Severus and Titus. The Romans invented and perfected the arch, and no one has improved on that design for at least 1000 years.
The political hopefuls of Roman times loved to use The Rostra to make speeches to state their qualifications and positions. In a lot of ways life back then is like today, which you can almost feel when you spend time in the Forum. One stunning shrine that shows off how creative Roman builders were is the Lapis Niger, otherwise known as the Black Stone. When you are at this shrine admiring its beauty, you can also visit the Via Sacra shrine which is connected to it.
To say you have really experienced Rome means that you have set aside some time to visit this amazing area of cultural life and inspect the amazing structures at the Roman Forum. As you stroll the walkways and take it all in, it may give you pause to reflect on all that man can achieve and all that can be lost just as easily.
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