Roman Forum
Wedged between the Palatine Hill, the Capitoline Hill, the Via dei Fori Imperiali, and the Colosseum, the Roman Forum is an archaeological zone where temples and monuments from every era of antiquity lie stacked one upon another. From the age of kings through the Middle Ages it was the political, judicial, religious, and economic center of Rome — and the place where the foundations of Western law, politics, and philosophy were repeatedly rewritten. After the late empire it fell into decline: stone was pillaged, the space repurposed, and by the sixteenth century the whole area lay buried under meters of earth, reduced to a cattle pasture known as the Campo Vaccino. The excavations of the nineteenth century, spurred by archaeological enthusiasm and the urban projects that followed Italian unification, gradually brought it back to light. The scattered columns and broken plinths you see today may look random, but every stone has a name and a story — walk in, and start reading.
Italy · 58 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Temple of Caesar
At the eastern end of the Forum, beside the Regia, a semicircular niche marks the spot where Julius Caesar's body was cremated. The temple (Aedes Divi Iulii) was built directly over that improvised pyre and dedicated to the deified Gaius Julius Caesar — the first Roman, after the legendary founder Romulus, to be declared a god after death and honored with a temple. Standing before these foundations, you are standing at the exact line where Rome crossed from republic to empire and turned a man into a god.
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Basilica Opimia
In the area near the Temple of Concord, close to the Capitoline Hill, once stood the Basilica Opimia — one of four basilicas that lined the Republican Forum alongside the Basilica Porcia, the Basilica Sempronia, and the Basilica Aemilia, the only one of the four that survives. Almost nothing is visible at ground level today, but the manner of its disappearance is itself a chapter of Forum history: the neighboring temple expanded until it swallowed the basilica whole.
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Rostra of the Temple of Caesar
On the front of the Temple of Caesar, a semicircular niche marks the cremation spot, and projecting forward from the temple podium is this speakers' platform (Rostra aedis Divi Iuli), authorized by the Senate and completed by Augustus. At the temple's dedication on 18 August 29 BC, Augustus fastened the prows (rostra) of ships captured from Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium (31 BC) to the front of the platform — following the Republican tradition of decorating speakers' platforms with enemy spoils, while simultaneously asserting his legitimacy as Caesar's heir. The platform is therefore not just a speaking stage; it is a carefully designed political statement.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Tabula Valeria
The place-name "ad Tabulam Valeriam" survives only because Cicero mentioned it in two letters: in 58 BC, during his exile, he wrote that his wife had been "brought from the Temple of Vesta to the Tabula Valeria," implying this was a specific location in the Forum with legal or administrative significance. Scholars still disagree about what it actually was; nothing is visible at ground level.
Sources: penelope.uchicago.edu · penelope.uchicago.edu · wikidata.org
Seven Shops (Later Reduced to Five)
Along the northern edge of the Forum, on what would later become the site of the Basilica Aemilia, there was once a row of shops facing the square — known in the ancient sources as "the seven shops later reduced to five" (tabernae septem quae postea quinque). A great fire in 210 BC destroyed them all; they were rebuilt the following year as new banking shops (argentariae). The row had originally numbered seven, but was at some point reduced to five — the reason is unknown, perhaps absorbed by adjacent construction. The rebuilt shops were used mainly by money-changers (argentarii) and silversmiths, a snapshot of the Forum's commercial and financial life in the late Republic. Almost no visible trace remains at ground level today, but the site would have been along the southern edge of the Basilica Aemilia's colonnade.
Sources: wikidata.org · en.wikipedia.org
Old Shops (Tabernae Veteres)
Along the southern side of the Forum, running beside the Via Sacra, was a row of stalls kn… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: wikidata.org · en.wikipedia.org
Campo Vaccino
From the Middle Ages to the early modern period the Forum ruins were not an empty wastelan… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Rostra of the Temple of Caesar (Eastern Platform)
Projecting from the front podium of the Temple of Caesar into the Forum is a semicircular… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ancientromelive.org · digitalaugustanrome.org
Tabularium
Perched at the northwest corner of the Forum, at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, the Tabu… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · digitalaugustanrome.org
Temple of Augustus
The Temple of the Deified Augustus (Templum Divi Augusti) was built by Tiberius for his de… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Portico of the Dii Consentes
At the foot of the Capitoline Hill, the Portico of the Dii Consentes (Porticus Deorum Cons… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · penelope.uchicago.edu
Horrea Piperataria (Pepper Warehouse)
On the eastern side of the Forum, at the southwest foot of the Velian Hill, once stood an… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: openmindtours.com · italoamericano.org
Arch of Titus
The Arch of Titus stands on the eastern slope of the Palatine Hill, at the entrance to the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Via Sacra (Sacred Way)
The Via Sacra — the Sacred Way — is the spine of the Roman Forum, running from the slopes… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Arch of Septimius Severus
The Arch of Septimius Severus rises at the northwest corner of the Forum. Built by the Sen… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Basilica Iulia
The Basilica Iulia runs along the southern side of the Forum between the Temple of Saturn… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Column of Phocas
Standing alone near the center-west of the Forum, the Column of Phocas is conspicuous and… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Archaic Cemetery (Sepulcretum)
Beneath the lawn to the left of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina lies the oldest layer… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: sights.seindal.dk · en.wikipedia.org
Miliarium Aureum (Golden Milestone)
Near the western end of the Forum, beside the Temple of Saturn, once stood a marble column… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Vicus Tuscus (Etruscan Quarter)
The Vicus Tuscus — the "Etruscan Street" — ran from the southern edge of the Forum between… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Antiquarium Forense (Forum Museum)
The Antiquarium Forense (officially the Museo del Foro Romano) is tucked into the old wing… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Lacus Iuturnae (Spring of Juturna)
The Lacus Iuturnae — the Spring of Juturna — lies between the Temple of Castor and the Hou… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Regia
The Regia sits at the southeast corner of the Forum, beside the Temple of Caesar, and is o… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Sacellum Bacchi (Shrine of Bacchus)
On the southeastern side of the Forum, beside the Via Sacra, a small shrine dedicated to B… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Basilica Aemilia
The Basilica Aemilia stretches along the northern edge of the Forum — the only one of the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Honorary Column Bases
Behind the Rostra at the western end of the Forum, a row of brick bases runs along the sou… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: romanoimpero.com · hmdb.org
Tabernae Novae (New Shops)
The Tabernae Novae — "New Shops" — is the name given to the rebuilt northern row of Forum… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Temple of Concord
The Temple of Concord (Tempio della Concordia) stands against the foot of the Capitoline H… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Temple of Vespasian and Titus
The Temple of Vespasian and Titus is known today for the three Corinthian columns standing… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano
The Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano was the first Christian church established within th… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Arch of Augustus
The site of the Arch (or Arches) of Augustus lies immediately beside the Temple of Caesar… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Basilica of Maxentius
The Basilica of Maxentius (also known as the Basilica of Constantine) is the largest and l… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Curia Iulia (Senate House)
The Curia Iulia is Rome's Senate meeting hall, and today is one of the most intact large b… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Medieval Portico
Along the Via Sacra, this section of portico is one of the rare surviving above-ground tra… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
San Lorenzo in Miranda
The church of San Lorenzo in Miranda occupies the cella of the Temple of Antoninus and Fau… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Temple of Romulus
The Temple of Romulus (Tempio del Divo Romolo) stands on the Via Sacra between the Temple… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is one of the best-preserved temples in the Forum, ma… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Temple of Venus and Rome
The Temple of Venus and Rome (Tempio di Venere e Roma) is the largest known temple in anci… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
House of the Vestal Virgins
The House of the Vestal Virgins (Casa delle Vestali, ancient Latin Atrium Vestae) stands d… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
House of Scaurus
Beside the Arch of Titus at the foot of the Palatine Hill is one of the very few identifia… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: archeoroma.com
Horrea Vespasiani (Warehouses of Vespasian)
The Horrea Vespasiani stand beside the upper Via Sacra (Via Sacra summa) and in front of t… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Temple of Castor
The Temple of Castor (Tempio dei Dioscuri, commonly called the Tempio dei Castori) is toda… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta is a small circular shrine at the eastern end of the Forum beside the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Doliola (Sacred Jar Deposit)
Near the Rostra at the western end of the Forum, an ancient place called the Doliola ("lit… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: jeffbondono.com
Temple of Saturn
The Temple of Saturn is the group of eight columns at the western end of the Forum just so… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Umbilicus Urbis Romae (Navel of Rome)
In the northwest corner of the Forum, beside the Arch of Septimius Severus, a squat brick… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Rostra Vetera (Old Speakers' Platform)
Beside the Arch of Septimius Severus at the western end of the Forum, an arc of foundation… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Santa Maria Antiqua
Santa Maria Antiqua is one of the earliest known churches in Rome dedicated to the Virgin… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Oratory of the Forty Martyrs
The Oratory of the Forty Martyrs (Oratorio dei Quaranta Martiri) sits directly south of th… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Aedicula (Small Cult Shrine)
Scattered throughout the Forum archaeological zone, the edicola di culto represents a comm… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Atrium Vestae (Courtyard of the Vestals)
The Atrium Vestae is the open-air heart of the Vestal Virgins' residential complex — a lon… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Domus Publica (House of the Pontifex Maximus)
The Domus Publica — the official residence of the Pontifex Maximus, Rome's chief priest —… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Origins
One section of the Forum Antiquarium is dedicated to the origins of the Roman Forum. The v… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
The Regal Period
The "Regal Period" section of the Forum Antiquarium covers the Forum's formation during th… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
The Republican Period
The "Republican Period" section of the Forum Antiquarium documents the Forum's dramatic tr… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
The Imperial Period
The "Imperial Period" section of the Forum Antiquarium traces the Forum's final crystalliz… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
The Medieval Period
The "Medieval Period" section of the Forum Antiquarium traces the Forum's decline from the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
The Modern Period
The "Modern Period" section of the Forum Antiquarium covers the Forum's final history from… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Roman Forum?
Temple of Caesar, Basilica Opimia, Rostra of the Temple of Caesar and more — 58 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Roman Forum guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 53 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).