The Roman Forum: Heart of the Roman World
The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was the political, commercial, religious, and social center of the city of Rome for more than a thousand years. Located in a valley between the Palatine and Capitoline hills, the Forum was the setting for the great public meetings of the Roman Republic, the triumphant processions of the Roman emperors, the criminal trials of the Roman law courts, the business deals of the Roman merchants, and the religious rituals of the Roman state. The Forum was the physical and symbolic heart of the Roman world, and the many monuments that surround it are the most concentrated collection of Roman architecture and sculpture in existence.
This page is a complete guide to the Roman Forum. It explains the history, the major monuments, and the modern significance. It links back to the Roman Republic cluster, the Roman Empire cluster, and the Roman Engineering cluster.
The Early Forum
The Roman Forum began as a marshy valley between the Palatine and Capitoline hills. The first drainage work was done by the Etruscan kings of Rome in the sixth century BCE, and the Cloaca Maxima, the great sewer of Rome, was built to drain the marsh into the Tiber. The earliest known temple of the Forum, the Temple of Vesta, was built around this time, and the earliest known basilica, the Basilica Porcia, was built in 184 BCE.
The Forum was the central meeting place of the Roman people. The comitia (popular assemblies) met there, the Senate met in the Curia, and the magistrates administered the law in the basilicas. The Forum was also a commercial center: the tabernae (shops) of the Forum housed the bankers, the money-changers, the booksellers, and the merchants of the city. The Forum was the heart of the Roman state.
The Major Monuments
The Roman Forum is surrounded by a series of great monuments, built over the course of a thousand years. The most important are:
The Curia
The Curia was the meeting place of the Roman Senate. The original Curia Hostilia, traditionally attributed to the third king Tullus Hostilius, was rebuilt several times. The surviving Curia, the Curia Julia, was begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus in 29 BCE. It was the meeting place of the Roman Senate for almost a thousand years, until the seat of government was moved to Constantinople in the fourth century CE. The Curia is one of the best-preserved ancient buildings in Rome.
The Basilica Julia
The Basilica Julia was the largest of the basilicas of the Forum, begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus. It housed the law courts of the Roman Republic and Empire, and it was the setting for the trials of Verres, Milo, and Clodius. The basilica was rebuilt several times after fires and collapses, and the surviving structure is largely a restoration of the rebuilding under Diocletian.
The Basilica Aemilia
The Basilica Aemilia was the older of the two great basilicas of the Forum, originally built in 179 BCE. It was rebuilt several times, and it was the setting for some of the most important financial transactions of the Roman state. The surviving structure is the foundation and parts of the lower walls.
The Temple of Saturn
The Temple of Saturn was the oldest temple in the Forum, traditionally dedicated in 497 BCE. The temple housed the Roman state treasury (aerarium), and it was the setting for the annual festival of the Saturnalia, the Roman midwinter celebration. The surviving eight Ionic columns are from a rebuilding by the emperor Diocletian in the late third century CE.
The Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta was the most sacred of the temples of the Forum, dedicated to the goddess of the hearth. The temple was the home of the Vestal Virgins, the priestesses who tended the sacred fire of Rome, and it was the setting for many of the most important religious rituals of the Roman state. The surviving round temple is a reconstruction of a rebuilding of the third century CE.
The Temple of Castor and Pollux
The Temple of Castor and Pollux was originally vowed in 484 BCE to commemorate the legendary appearance of the Dioscuri at the Battle of Lake Regillus. The temple was rebuilt several times, and the surviving three Corinthian columns are from a rebuilding by Tiberius in 6 CE.
The Temple of Vespasian and Titus
The Temple of Vespasian and Titus was begun by the emperor Titus and completed by his brother Domitian in 87 CE. Three of the original Corinthian columns survive.
The Arch of Titus
The Arch of Titus, built by the emperor Domitian in 81 CE, commemorates the victories of his father Vespasian and his brother Titus in the Jewish War. The arch is decorated with relief sculptures of the triumphal procession of 70 CE, including the famous depiction of the menorah of the Temple of Jerusalem being carried away by Roman soldiers. The arch is one of the most famous examples of Roman triumphal architecture.
The Arch of Septimius Severus
The Arch of Septimius Severus, built in 203 CE to commemorate the emperor’s victories over the Parthians, is the largest and most elaborate of the triumphal arches in the Forum. The arch has three bays, with relief sculptures on the piers and a dedication inscription on the attic. The bronze inscription was originally gilded.
The Column of Phocas
The Column of Phocas is the last monument to be erected in the Roman Forum, built in 608 CE in honor of the Byzantine emperor Phocas. The column is a single shaft of Greek marble, about 13 meters (42 feet) high, set on a square base. It was the last gasp of the ancient Roman Forum, which was already in decline.
The Rostra
The Rostra was the speaker’s platform of the Roman Forum, originally decorated with the beaks (rostra) of the warships captured from Antium in 338 BCE. The Rostra was the setting for the speeches of the Roman orators, including the famous speeches of Cicero against Catiline and Mark Antony, and the funeral orations for the Roman dead. The surviving platform is the work of a rebuilding by Julius Caesar.
The Imperial Fora
In addition to the original Forum Romanum, the emperors built a series of new fora, the Fora Imperatorum, to the northeast of the original. The most important were the Forum of Julius Caesar, the Forum of Augustus, the Forum of Vespasian (the Temple of Peace), the Forum of Nerva, and the Forum of Trajan. The Forum of Trajan, the last of the great imperial fora, included the famous Trajan’s Column, designed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus in 113 CE.
The imperial fora were used for legal proceedings, commercial transactions, and public ceremonies. They were lavishly decorated with statues, reliefs, and marble paving. The Forum of Trajan also included a market (Mercatus Traiani), a library, and a basilica.
The Fall of the Forum
The Roman Forum began to decline in the late Empire. The Christian emperors moved the seat of government away from the Forum, and the pagan temples were gradually closed. By the Middle Ages, the Forum was abandoned and buried under silt and debris. Cattle grazed on the empty site, and the most famous buildings of the ancient city were reduced to foundations.
The Forum was rediscovered in the Renaissance, and the major monuments were gradually excavated over the next four hundred years. The first systematic excavations were carried out by the archaeologist Carlo Fea in the early nineteenth century. The work was continued under the papacy and the new Italian state, and the modern site was largely cleared in the early twentieth century.
The Modern Forum
The Roman Forum is now one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is managed by the Italian government, and major restoration projects are ongoing. The Forum is at the heart of the modern city of Rome, surrounded by the ruins of ancient buildings, the Renaissance palaces, the Baroque churches, and the modern traffic of the Italian capital.