HOME Rome Navona Colonna - Marcus Aurelius Column Piazza del Popolo Colosseum Arch of Constantine Circus Maximus Forum Santa Maria Antiqua Palatine Hill Capitoline Hill Pantheon San Giovanni Tiber Bridges Vatican City Venice Portfolio of Places Portfolio of Things ABOUT CONTACT

www.mgaylard.co.uk

Foro Romano

Foro Romano

Foro Romano

Arch of Titus

Arch of Titus 05
Arch of Titus 05

Arch of Titus

The Arch of Titus (Italian: Arco di Tito; Latin: Arcus Titi) is a 1st-century AD honorific arch, located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c. 81 AD by the Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus's official deification or consecratio and the victory of Titus together with their father, Vespasian, over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea. The arch contains panels depicting the triumphal procession celebrated in 71 AD after the Roman victory culminating in the fall of Jerusalem,[2] and provides one of the few contemporary depictions of artifacts of Herod's Temple. It became a symbol of the Jewish diaspora, and the menorah depicted on the arch served as the model for the menorah used as the emblem of the state of Israel.

en.wikipedia.org

Via Sacra

The Via Sacra used to be the main road in Ancient Rome. Translating into English as the Sacred Way Rome, it was the centre of commercial and everyday life in the city.

The Via Sacra Forum Romanum route – which runs from the Colosseum to the Capitoline Hill – was supposedly used from the 5th century B.C. Originally constructed to facilitate the route of any Roman Triumph (more on that later) it was covered very early on to protect the track from rain.

en.wikipedia.org
DSC_0457 Basilica of Maxentius
DSC_0457 Basilica of Maxentius

Basilica of Maxentius

The last civic basilica to be built in Rome, the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine remains the largest structure in the Roman Forum, Rome. With its unsupported 3 colossal arches and vaults still standing along with part of its roof, the basilica is considered a triumph of Roman engineering.

Construction of the monumental basilica began under emperor Maxentius in 308 AD. However, before it could be completed, civil war erupted between Maxentius and the other emperors of the tetrarchy: Constantine I and Licinius. Maxentius was defeated by Constantine I at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in October 312, and while Constantine still had not yet eliminated Licinius (which he would in 324), he completed construction of the basilica.

www.historyhit.com
DSC_0586 Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana Basilica of Maxentius
Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana and the Basilica of Maxentius

Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana

An oratory putatively was established in the eighth century under Pope Paul I in the portico of the former Temple of Venus and Roma. Tradition holds that at this site Saint Peter prayed at the site to challenge Simon Magus. According to this legend, Simon Magus wanted to prove his pagan powers were greater than those of the apostles, and started levitating in front of Peter. The apostle fell on his knees to prayer, asking God to demonstrate his pre-eminence, and Simon fell, dying. Tradition holds that the basalt stones where the apostle's knees during prayer are embedded in the wall of the south transept

A church at the site was known by the tenth century, was named Santa Maria Nova (or "Nuova", "New St Mary"), to distinguish it from the other church inside the Roman forum devoted to St Mary, Santa Maria Antiqua ("Ancient St Mary"), which had fallen into ruin by then.

en.wikipedia.org
Arch of Titus view across the Forum DSC_0435
From the Arch of Titus, The View Across The Forum
DSC_0443 - Palatine Hill and the Farnese Gardens
To The Left, The Palatine Hill and the Farnese Gardens
DSC_0448 Uccelliere Farnesiane
Horrea Vespasiani, Warehouse Buildings

Horrea Vespasiani

A horreum (plural: horrea) was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries, Roman horrea were used to store many other types of consumables; the giant Horrea Galbae in Rome were used not only to store grain but also olive oil, wine, foodstuffs, clothing and even marble. By the end of the imperial period, the city of Rome had nearly 300 horrea to supply its demands. The biggest were enormous, even by modern standards; the Horrea Galbae contained 140 rooms on the ground floor alone, covering an area of some 225,000 square feet (21,000 m²). The amount of storage space available in the public horrea can be judged by the fact that when the emperor Septimius Severus died in 211 AD, he is said to have left the city's horrea stocked with enough food to supply Rome's million-strong population for seven years

en.wikipedia.org
DSC_0458 Santi Cosma e Damiano
DSC_0458 Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano
DSC_0453 Santi Cosma e Damiano
DSC_0453 Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano

Temple of Romulus

The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a titular church in Rome, Italy. The lower portion of the building is accessible through the Roman Forum and incorporates original Roman buildings, but the entrance to the upper level is outside the Forum. The circular building located at the entrance of the Forum, which now houses a small archeological exhibit, was built in the early 4th century as a Roman temple. It is thought to have been dedicated to Valerius Romulus, deified son of the emperor Maxentius. The main building was perhaps the library of an imperial forum

The Temple is traditionally held to have been dedicated by Emperor Maxentius to his son and co-consul Valerius Romulus, who died in 309 and was given divine honours. The temple building was probably part of a rebuilding program of "incredible intensity" undertaken by Maxentius in the area, following a disastrous fire in 306; the project was only part-complete at his death. The temple's identification with Valerius Romulus is tentative, based on the spot-find of a coin dated to 307 AD showing the distinctive shape of the building, and a nearby dedication to Valerius Romulus as a divinised mortal.[1] The temple has also been speculated as a rebuilding of the original temple of "Jupiter Stator", or one dedicated to Penates, restored by Maxentius.

en.wikipedia.org
Tempio di Antonio e Faustina 03
Tempio di Antonio e Faustina 03

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, which was later converted into a Roman Catholic church, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda or simply "San Lorenzo in Miranda". It is located in the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia.

The temple was constructed by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, beginning in 141 AD. It was initially dedicated to his deceased and deified wife, Faustina the Elder. Because of this, Faustina was the first Roman empress with a permanent presence in the Forum Romanum. When Antoninus Pius was deified after his death in 161 AD, the temple was re-dedicated to both Antoninus and Faustina by his successor, Marcus Aurelius.

The building stands on a high platform of large grey peperino tufa blocks. The later of two dedicatory inscriptions says, "Divo Antonino et Divae Faustinae Ex S.C." meaning, “For the divine Antoninus and for the divine Faustina, by decree of the Senate.”

The temple was converted into a Roman Catholic church, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda, perhaps as early as the seventh century, but it is only attested from the eleventh century work Mirabilia Urbis Romae. "Miranda" may derive from the name of a benefactress. At that time, it was thought that this was the location of the sentencing of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr to death by the Prefect of Rome, hence its dedication.

en.wikipedia.org

House And Temple Of The Vestals

DSC_0468 House of the Vestals
DSC_0468 House of the Vestals
DSC_0466 House of the Vestals
DSC_0466 House of the Vestals

The House of the Vestal Virgins

The House of the Vestal Virgins (Latin: Atrium Vestae; Italian: Casa delle Vestali) was the residence of Vestal Virgins,[1] located behind the circular Temple of Vesta at the eastern edge of the Roman Forum, between the Regia and the Palatine Hill. The domus publica, where the Pontifex Maximus dwelled, was located near the Atrium until that role was assumed by the emperors.

en.wikipedia.org

Temple Of Romulus

DSC_0458 Santi Cosma e Damiano
Santi Cosma e Damiano
DSC_0453 Santi Cosma e Damiano
DSC_0453 Santi Cosma e Damiano"

The Temple of Romulus

The so-called Temple of Romulus stands in the archaeological area of the Roman Forum, between the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the Basilica of Maxentius. The small building was originally built as a circular vestibule leading to the Temple of Peace, but after the abandonment of the imperial complex, Maxentius, according to medieval tradition, reused it as a temple dedicated to his son, Valerius Romulus, who died prematurely in 309 AD. and deified. Subsequently, when a hall of the Temple of Peace was transformed into the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian in the 6th century AD., it was used as a vestibule of the church.

www.turismoroma.it

Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano

The temple was Christianized and dedicated to Sancti Cosma et Damianus in 527, when Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, and his daughter Amalasuntha donated the library of the Forum of Peace (Bibliotheca Pacis) and a portion of the Temple of Romulus to Pope Felix IV. The pope united the two buildings to create a basilica devoted to two Arabian Christian brothers and saints, Cosmas and Damian, in contrast with the ancient pagan cult of the two brothers Castor and Pollux, who had been worshipped in the nearby Temple of Castor and Pollux. The apse was decorated with a Roman-Byzantine mosaic, representing a parousia, the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. The bodies of Saints Mark and Marcellian were translated, perhaps in the ninth century, to this church, where they were rediscovered in 1583 during the reign of Pope Gregory XIII.

en.wikipedia.org
DSC_0492 Fonte di Giuturna
Fonte di Giuturna
DSC_0489 Spring of Juturna,
Spring of Juturna

Lacus Juturnae

The Lacus Iuturnae, or Lacus Juturnae or Spring of Juturna, is the name of a formal pool built by the Romans near a spring or well in the Roman Forum. The pool was part of a shrine dedicated to the water nymph Juturna, and the name Lacus Iuturnae is also used for the spring and the shrine, both next to the pool.

The shrine marks a place where Roman legend claims the divine twins Castor and Pollux stopped to water their horses while passing through the city, and where they announced Roman victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus, 495 BC. During the Roman Empire, when another spring in the city had dried up, the Vestal Virgins used this spring to supply water for their religious ceremonies. The water at the Lacus Iuturnae was thought to have healing properties. The elderly and infirm would go to the spring with offerings in order to secure the assistance of Juturna in curing their malady.

en.wikipedia.org
DSC_0548 Basilica Julia
DSC_0548 Basilica Julia
DSC_0527 Basilica Julia
DSC_0527 Basilica Julia Left in foreground

The Basilica Julia

The Basilica Julia (Italian: Basilica Giulia) was a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated. What is left from its classical period are mostly foundations, floors, a small back corner wall with a few arches that are part of both the original building and later Imperiale reconstructions and a single column from its first building phase.

The Basilica Julia was built on the site of the earlier Basilica Sempronia (170 BC) along the south side of the Forum, opposite the Basilica Aemilia. It was initially dedicated in 46 BC by Julius Caesar, with building costs paid from the spoils of the Gallic War, and was completed by Augustus, who named the building after his adoptive father. The ruins which have been excavated date to a reconstruction of the Basilica by the Emperor Diocletian, after a fire in 283 AD destroyed the earlier structure.

en.wikipedia.org
DSC_0530 San Lorenzo in Miranda in the Roman Forum
DSC_0530 San Lorenzo in Miranda in the Roman Forum
DSC_0529 San Lorenzo in Miranda in the Roman Forum
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, which was later converted into a Roman Catholic church, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda or simply "San Lorenzo in Miranda". It is located in the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia.

The temple was constructed by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, beginning in 141 AD. It was initially dedicated to his deceased and deified wife, Faustina the Elder. Because of this, Faustina was the first Roman empress with a permanent presence in the Forum Romanum. When Antoninus Pius was deified after his death in 161 AD, the temple was re-dedicated to both Antoninus and Faustina by his successor, Marcus Aurelius.

The temple was converted into a Roman Catholic church, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda, perhaps as early as the seventh century, but it is only attested from the eleventh century work Mirabilia Urbis Romae. "Miranda" may derive from the name of a benefactress. At that time, it was thought that this was the location of the sentencing of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr to death by the Prefect of Rome, hence its dedication

en.wikipedia.org
DSC_0485 Temple of Castor and Pollux
DSC_0485 Temple of Castor and Pollux
DSC_0549 Temple of Casator and Pollux
DSC_0549 Temple of Casator and Pollux

Tempio dei Dioscuri

The Temple of Castor and Pollux (Italian: Tempio dei Dioscuri) is an ancient temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, central Italy.[1] It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces) were the Dioscuri, the "twins" of Gemini, the twin sons of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leda. Their cult came to Rome from Greece via Magna Graecia and the Greek culture of Southern Italy.

en.wikipedia.org
Temple of Saturn 01
Temple of Saturn 01
DSC_0555 Temple of Saturn
DSC_0555 Temple of Saturn

The Temple of Saturn

The Temple of Saturn (Latin: Templum Saturni or Aedes Saturni; Italian: Tempio di Saturno) was an ancient Roman temple to the god Saturn, in what is now Rome, Italy. Its ruins stand at the foot of the Capitoline Hill at the western end of the Roman Forum. The original dedication of the temple is traditionally dated to 497 BC,

Construction of the temple is thought to have begun in the later years of the Roman Kingdom under Tarquinius Superbus. Its inauguration by the consul Titus Larcius took place in the early years of the Republic, making it the oldest Republican temple after the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The altar of Saturn, which stood in front of the temple, is thought to have been much older and was associated with Saturn's founding of the city on Capitoline Hill. The temple was completely reconstructed by Munatius Plancus in 42 BC

In Roman mythology, Saturn ruled during the Golden Age, and he continued to be associated with wealth. His temple housed the treasury, the aerarium,[5] where the Roman Republic's reserves of gold and silver were stored. The state archives and the insignia and official scale for the weighing of metals were also housed there. Later, the aerarium was moved to another building, and the archives were transferred to the nearby Tabularium. The temple's podium, constructed out of concrete covered with travertine, was used for posting bills.

en.wikipedia.org
DSC_0559 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0559 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0567 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0567 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0568 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0568 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0563 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0563 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0564 Septimius Severus Arch
DSC_0564 Septimius Severus Arch

The Arch of Septimius Severus

The Arch of Septimius Severus (Italian: Arco di Settimio Severo) at the northwestern end of the Roman Forum is a white marble triumphal arch dedicated in 203 A.D. to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194-195 A.D. and 197–199 A.D. After the death of Septimius Severus, his sons Caracalla and Geta were initially joint emperors.[2] Caracalla had Geta assassinated in 212 A.D.; Geta's memorials were destroyed and all images or mentions of him were removed from public buildings and monuments. Accordingly, Geta's image and inscriptions referring to him were removed from the arch.

en.wikipedia.org

Santa Maria Antiqua

Santa Maria Antiqua 02
Santa Maria Antiqua 02
Santa Maria Antiqua 03
Santa Maria Antiqua 03
Santa Maria Antiqua 01
Santa Maria Antiqua 01

Santa Maria Antiqua

Santa Maria Antiqua (English: Ancient Church of Saint Mary) is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy, built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum, and for a long time the monumental access to the Palatine imperial palaces.

Located at the foot of the Palatine Hill, Santa Maria Antiqua is the oldest Christian monument in the Roman Forum. The church contains the earliest Roman depiction of Santa Maria Regina, the Virgin Mary as a Queen, from the 6th century.

Built in the middle of the 5th century on the north-western slope of the Palatine Hill, Santa Maria Antiqua is the earliest and most significant Christian monument within the Roman Forum. The church contains a unique collection of wall paintings from the 6th to late 8th century. The discovery of these paintings have given many theories on the development of early medieval art and given distinctive beliefs in archaeology. The church was abandoned in the 9th century after an earthquake buried the buildings; it remained sealed for over 1000 years until its rediscovery in the early 20th century. Therefore, Santa Maria Antiqua represents a key element for the understanding of the cultural and urban development of the Roman Forum from Antiquity into the first centuries of the Christian period.

en.wikipedia.org
Santa Maria Antiqua 06
Santa Maria Antiqua 06
DSC_0521 Domitian's Imperial Ramp
DSC_0521 Domitian's Imperial Ramp
DSC_0520 Domitian's Imperial Ramp
DSC_0520 Domitian's Imperial Ramp

Imperial Ramp

The seven-level ramp, built by Emperor Domitian in the first century AD to serve as a majestic entrance into his palace, was only discovered in 1900

This covered walkway was protected by huge walls to make the passage of emperors invisible to the people in the Forum. Visitors can now walk along this passage just like the emperors did and emerge on the Palatine Hill, where emperors built their huge residences, for a panoramic view of the Forum.

www.italymagazine.com

Palatine Hill

DSC_0609 Palatine Stadium
DSC_0609 Palatine Stadium
DSC_0607 Fountain of the Pelte Domus Augustana
Domus Tiberiana
DSC_0598 Palatine Museum and Domus Flavia
DSC_0598 Palatine Museum and Domus Flavia
DSC_0601 Palatine Museum
DSC_0601 Palatine Museum
Open the full set Flickr Logo this page

The Foro Romano

An impressive – if rather confusing – spread of ruins, the Roman Forum was ancient Rome's showpiece center, a grandiose district of temples, basilicas and vibrant public spaces. It can be hard to picture this nowadays but if you can get your imagination going, there’s something truly magical about walking in the footsteps of Julius Caesar and other legendary figures.

The site, which was originally a marshy burial ground, was first developed in the 7th century BCE, growing over time to become the political, religious and commercial hub of the Roman empire. On any given day, it hummed with activity as shoppers thronged its teeming streets, senators debated affairs of state, and lawyers hustled in its busy law courts.

Like many of ancient Rome's urban developments, the Forum fell into disrepair after the fall of the Roman Empire until eventually it was used as pasture land. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Campo Vaccino (Cow Field) and extensively plundered for its stone and marble. The area was systematically excavated in the 18th and 19th centuries, and excavations continue to this day.

There are three entrances to the Forum: at Largo della Salara Vecchia (just off Via dei Fori Imperiali), near the Arco di Settimio Severo, and at the Arco di Tito (nearest the Colosseum and so the busiest). You can also enter directly from the Palatino, which is part of the same archaeological park and covered by the same ticket.

www.lonelyplanet.com

The Palatine Hill

The first of Rome’s seven hills, the Palatino is central to the city’s creation story. Hard-nosed realists point to the establishment of a hut village on the hill in the early Iron Age (around the 9th century BCE) – for which there’s ample archaeological evidence. Romantics refer to the legend that Romulus killed his twin Remus and established Rome on the Palatino in 753 BCE.

Whichever version you prefer, the city flourished and by the 1st century BCE, the hill had become Rome’s most exclusive neighborhood. Its cooler, cleaner air and position above the Roman Forum led many wealthy patricians to set up home here. Emperors later followed suit. Augustus lived here all his life and successive emperors built increasingly opulent palaces – in fact, the word "palace" derives from the hill's Latin name, Palatium.

The hilltop can be accessed from two sides – from Via di San Gregorio to the east or through the Roman Forum to the north. Either way, it’s a short, steep climb to the summit area where you’ll find the principal sights

www.lonelyplanet.com