Imperial Forums

Lonely Planet review

The expanse of ruins to the northeast of Via dei Fori Imperiali are known collectively as the Imperial Forums (Fori Imperiali). Constructed by Caesar, Augustus, Vespasian, Nerva and Trajan between 42 BC and AD 112, they were largely buried in 1933 when Mussolini built Via dei Fori Imperiali between the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia.

vExcavations have since unearthed much of them, but work continues and visits are limited to the Foro di Traiano. In its heyday the vast 2nd-century precinct comprised two libraries, a temple, a triumphal arch, a basilica and a huge column. Little remains now except for some pillars.

The ancient equivalent of a shopping mall, the Mercati di Traiano (Trajan's Markets) is the vast semi-circular construction that you see from the road.

Much of the Foro di Nerva (Forum of Nerva) was destroyed by Mussolini's roadbuilding but part of a temple dedicated to Minerva still stands.

Three columns on a raised platform are all that remain of the Foro di Cesare (Forum of Caesar). Julius Caesar claimed the goddess Venus as an ancestor and his forum included a temple to her.