Booking
Visits of Rome:
- Visit of Rome's Colosseum
- Visit Rome by night
- Rome shore excursion from Civitavecchia
- Visit Capitol Hill of Rome
- Visit Rome Vatican Museums
- Visit Rome Vatican's Sixtine Chapel
- Visit Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Visit Rome's Piazza Navona
- Visit Rome's Circus Maximus
- Visit Rome's Constantine Arch
- Visit Rome's Spanish Steps
- Visit St Peter Basilica in Rome
- Visit Rome's Trajan Forum
- Visit Rome Pantheon
- Visit the Mouth of Truth of Rome
- Visit St Mary above Minerva in Rome
- Private tour or big bus?
- Rome tourist information and advice
- Visit Venice Squares' Vittoriano in Rome
In other languages…
The Roman Forum
If you have decided to hire a private tour guide in Rome and you are enjoying driving across the ancient monuments of the Eternal City, your guide will tell you that the Roman Forum belonged to the biggest city in the ancient world. It was a marsh in a little valley situated between the Capitol Hill to the North and the Palatine Hill to the South and it was drained during the 6th century BC under Tarquinius Priscus, one of the seven first kings of Rome.
It was the social, political, administrative and commercial part of the city until the first century AD, period in which it was splitted into social and political part (Roman Forum) and commercial part (Trajan Forum) under the emperor Trajan.
Just under the Capitol Hill loggia (the ancient facade of the Tabularium), where you can have a wonderful view of almost the entire Roman Forum, are the Temple of Saturn, the Comitium (where politicians adressed themselves to the citizens from the "rostrum", a stage of stone right over the audience) and the Arch of Septimius Severus (northern entrance of the Forum from which started the Via Sacra - Sacred Way - where the Romans celebrated the Triunfus - honor title for victorious generals conquering territories in the name of Rome - and the gladiators had their blessing procession: the way leads in fact to the Colosseum).
Built in the VI° century before Christ the Comitium was demolished in the I° century before Christ during the reorganization of the whole Forum from Julius Caesar and of Octavain Augustus. The remains of it are visible in today's Forum.
Right under the Comitium have been discovered the most ancient monuments in the archaic Rome (for example the Lapis Niger, a black stone attributed as an epitaph of the first king of Rome Romulus, on which the most ancient inscriptions were found known of the bustrophedonic - archaic Greek - language).
The Curia (Hostilia, Cornelia and Julia) was the place where were discussed and emanated the laws from the Senate and it stands between the arch of Septimius Severus and the Basilica Emilia. Built by Tullius Ostilius, third king of Rome, five times reconstructed, the last from Diocletian in 283 AD.
Finally it is important to know that before the construction of the Colosseum (72-80), the main square of the Roman Forum was destinated to the games of the gladiators. The Forum is crossed in fact in its underground part from corridors that served to make appear the gladiators in the main square.
It's not only true that the main achievements of the romans were based in wars but mainly the Romans were perfectly organized people who were able with their laws to solve problems and conflicts that no other civilization could solve at that time with their own laws, considered primitive.
Visiting the Roman Forum
Walking inside the Roman Forum will really gives you the idea of the development of the roman civilization and of its decline, when christianity took over at the end of the roman empire.
Exploring the Roman Forum step by step is so breathtaking that the time and the noisy traffic of modern Rome disappear almost magically. Wondering through the steps of the ancient remains will help you to understand better how still today we are using roman institutions and laws, like for example the contracts, the deposit or a custody of a thing, the tutoring of the kids because they are in minor age and so on.