Roman Forum

The Roman Forum or Forum Romanum of ancient Rome was the bustling religious, administrative, legal, and commercial heart of the city from the 7th century BCE onwards. Made increasingly grandiose and ceremonial in function by the Imperial Period, the Forum became a monumental symbol in stone and marble of Roman power and vanity with temples of deified emperors, dedicatory columns, and massive triumphal arches celebrating military victories from far corners of the Empire. Although wrecked by earthquake, weathering, pollution, and centuries of architects robbing it of its stones and columns, the Forum Romanum, nevertheless, remains one of the most impressive sites surviving from antiquity and a unique window into the once-great glorious world that was Rome.