A Forum was the main center of a Roman city. Usually located near the physical center of a Roman town, it served as a public area in which commercial, religious, economic, political, legal, and social activities occurred. Fora were common in all Roman cities, but none were as grand as the fora of Rome itself.
The Roman Forum or Forum Romanum or Foro Romano in Italian is a rectangular plaza surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. Originally a marsh, the Romans drained the area and turned it into a centre of political and social activity. The Forum was the marketplace of Rome and also the business district and civic centre. It was for centuries the center of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million sightseers annually In the area around the Forum, the city was also home to markets, shops and taverns. You could also find the typical Termopolia, which were the ancient equivalent of today's fast food restaurants. In short, the Forum was the heart and soul of city life. It was in Caesar's time, when Rome has become the capital of a vast empire, that the Forum became a place for celebrations and in the Imperial era it was the symbol of the Empire. The Legend goes that one of the first acts of Romulus, the city’s eponymous founder, was to establish a fortification wall around the Palatine Hill, the site of his new settlement. The Capitoline Hill, opposite the Palatine, emerged as the city’s citadel (arx) and site of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, among others Iron Age populations had used the marshy valley separating the Palatine and Capitoline hills as a necropolis but the burgeoning settlement of archaic Rome had need of communal space and the valley was repurposed from a necropolis to a usable space. This required several transformations, both of human activity and the natural environment. Burial activity had to be transferred elsewhere; for this reason the main necropolis site shifted to the far side of the Esquiline Hill. The second century B.C.E. saw the creation and introduction of a unique Roman building type, the basilica. The basilica was a columnar hall that often had a multi-purpose use—from law courts to commerce to entertainments. Roman planners came to prefer them for lining the long sides of open squares, The advent of the principate of Augustus (27 B.C.E. – 14 C.E.) brought about additions and renovations to the Forum Romanum. With the deification of Julius Caesar, Augustus’ adoptive father, a temple dedicated to Caesar’s cult (templum divi Iulii) was constructed on the edge of the forum square. Augustus restored existing buildings, completed incomplete projects, and added commemorative projects to celebrate his own accomplishments and those of his family members. In this latter group, the Arch of Augustus (#16 above) and the Porticus of Caius and Lucius are notable. The former was a triumphal arch celebrating significant military and diplomatic accomplishments of the emperor, while the latter honored the emperor’s grandsons. The monument that is considered to be the final ancient structure erected in the Forum Romanum is a re-purposed monumental column set in place by the emperor Phocas in August of 608 C.E. A major earthquake in 847 C.E. wreaked considerable damage on remaining Roman monuments in the forum and in its environs. During the Middle Ages ancient structures provided reusable buildings materials, as well as reusable foundations, for Medieval structures. While the Forum Romanum was the main forum of Rome, there were several other fora located throughout the city. Each of these fora had a specific purpose unto themselves. These included the Forum Boarium (the cattle market), and several Imperial Fora. Roman Emperors such as Augustus and trajan built the Imperial Fora, usually with the spoils of war, in order to celebrate themselves and their victories. The Forum was one of the important centers of Roman daily life. But the Forum had another purpose that we might find unusual. It was in the Forum where anyone who felt like it could stand and talk to the crowd and express their views on any subject. This was called Orating and the Romans loved it. Teachers of speech-making would bring their students to the forum and assign them to try and convince the crowd that a specific idea was the correct and proper idea. Politicians gave speeches here. Any adult male Roman citizen could speak in the Forum. The ancient Romans were great orators. The job of their orators was not to argue, but to argue persuasively! People thronging the Forum would stop and listen to anyone Orating, then wander away to do their shopping, and perhaps leave a gift at a temple for one of their gods.
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Rome Private ToursThere are plenty to do in Rome, Italy. Here is our recommended points of interest for Groups of friends and family to get together and enjoy. Categories
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