The Imperial Forums

The Fori Imperiali—most importantly the Forum of Caesar, Forum of Augustus, and Forum of Trajan—are where where ancient Rome comes alive

The Forums of Augusts in Rome, Italy
The Forum of Augustus, part of the Fori Imperiali in Rome, Italy.
* Imperial Fori
Via dei Fori Imperiali
Private info site: www.capitolium.org

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As Imperial Rome began outgrowing its Roman Forum core, the Imperial Forums were built by a succession of emperors (starting with Julius Caesar) in ambitious bouts of urban expansion that provided for the populace, curried favor with the elite, and improved the city infrastructure all at the same time.

Today, this collection of Fori Imperiali is neatly bisected by Via dei Fori Imperiali, a triumphal avenue from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum laid out by Mussolini so he could parade his own glories past the decaying remnants of the Caesars. Full Story

Though, with the exception of Trajan's Market, the various Imeprial Fori are rarely open—and you have to pay if you want to wander around down inside them—the fantastic views from above (the modern road is a good 15 feet above the ancient ground level) are absolutely free.

The Forum of Caesar

The earliest of the Imperial Fori, the Forum of Caesar (i.e.: Julius), is the only one on the west side of Via dei Fori Imperiali, tucked between the Vittorio Emanuele monument, the Capitoline, and the Roman Forum.

It was in the 1st century BC that the popular general Julius Caesar (with his eye on the dictatorship) used the money he made during his successful Gaulish wars to buy up all the private property flanking the Roman Forum at this spot, tear down the houses, and build public temples and markets in their stead.

Those three standing Corinthian columns belonged to his self-serving Temple to Venus Genetrix, a goddess from whom Caesar claimed direct descendence through Rome's legendary founder, Aeneas.

Forum of Augustus

As you walk from the Colosseum north and branch onto Via Alessandrina, the first major forum on your right is the Forum of Augustus.

The stairs and column stumps in the center once belonged to the 2nd-century BC Temple of Mars Ultor. When it’s open, you can follow a catwalk running along the forum’s edge to get a better view.

More dramatic are the next set of ruins:

Markets of Trajan and Trajan's Forum

The curving arc of the Markets of Trajan and, across Via Alessandrina, Trajan's Forum with its exclamation point of a its triumphal column, are the only parts of the Imperial Fori that are cosistently open to the public—and as such are detailed on a seperate page. Full Story

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This material was last updated August 2010. All information was accurate at the time.

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