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90-675: The portico is located in Regio III of ancient Rome, which is named for a sanctuary of Isis in the area, and includes parts of the Esquiline and Oppian hills. The structure itself was found between the Via delle Sette Sale and the Via in Selci (the latter was called the "Clivus Suburanus" in ancient times). The structure was built on the estate of a rich freedman named Publius Vedius Pollio , who left his house and land to Augustus upon his death. His large estate

180-617: A marshy lake where waters from the surrounding hills drained. This was drained by the Tarquins with the Cloaca Maxima . Because of its location, sediments from both the flooding of the Tiber and the erosion of the surrounding hills have been raising the level of the Forum floor for centuries. Excavated sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the surrounding hills was already raising

270-641: A Greek and Roman temple is typically topped with a pediment. The different variants of porticos are named by the number of columns they have. The "style" suffix comes from the Greek στῦλος , "column". In Greek and Roman architecture, the pronaos of a temple is typically topped with a pediment . The tetrastyle has four columns; it was commonly employed by the Greeks and the Etruscans for small structures such as public buildings and amphiprostyles . The Romans favoured

360-569: A Roman building below it that some say was a house-church on the property of an early Christian named Equitius. Nero's sprawling house, the Domus Aurea , was built just south of this portico as well. Construction began on the portico in approximately 15 BCE upon the death of Vedius Pollio, and it was dedicated in January of 7 BCE. The dedication was connected with the celebration of a triumph of Tiberius , and both Tiberius and Livia hosted banquets for

450-651: A long lapse. The Forum Romanum suffered some of its worst depredations during the Italian Renaissance, particularly in the decade between 1540 and 1550, when Pope Paul III exploited it intensively for material to build the new Saint Peter's Basilica . Just a few years before, in 1536, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V held a triumph in Rome on his return from conquering Tunis in North Africa. To prepare

540-427: A magnificent shrine, which she presented to her dear husband. But learn this, thou age to come: where Livia’s colonnade now stands, there once stood a huge palace. The single house was like the fabric of a city; it occupied a space larger than that occupied by the walls of many a town. It was levelled with the ground, not on a charge of treason, but because its luxury was deemed harmful. Caesar brooked to overthrow so vast

630-467: A millennium: at least until the sack of Rome by Robert Guiscard and his Normans in 1084, when neglect finally allowed debris to begin to accumulate unabated. In 78 BC, the immense Tabularium (Records Hall) was built at the Capitoline Hill end of the Forum by order of the consuls for that year, M. Aemilius Lepidus and Q. Lutatius Catulus . In 63 BC, Cicero delivered his famous speech denouncing

720-559: A private meeting place. The monument is also listed in Regio III of the Notitia , the 4th century Regionary Catalogues of Rome. Most scholars assume that the rectangular structure in the middle of the portico is the Ara Concordia , since Livia was strongly connected to the deity and the Ara is mentioned by Ovid in connection with this portico. The layout of the center structure is reminiscent of

810-455: A structure, and to destroy so much wealth, to which he was himself the heir. That is the way to exercise the censorship; that is the way to set an example, when an upholder of law does himself what he warns others to do. Ovid also includes the Porticus of Livia in his Ars Amatoria list of good places to pick up women: Omit not to visit that portico which, adorned with ancient pictures, is called

900-544: Is a rectangular forum ( plaza ) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city of Rome . Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum , or simply the Forum . For centuries, the Forum was the centre of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections;

990-582: Is also found in the other sites in Latium . The urn containing the ashes of the deceased was placed inside a large earthenware jar, along with grave goods, and then buried in a cavity cut into the ground and covered with a capstone. There were also a small number of inhumation burials. On current evidence, it is likely that burials in the Forum ceased in the late 9th century BC and that the Esquiline Necropolis replaced them. The first archaeological finds on

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1080-760: Is said to have begun the cult of Vesta , building its house and temple as well as the Regia as the city's first royal palace. Later Tullus Hostilius (r. 673–642 BC) enclosed the Comitium around the old Etruscan temple where the Senate would meet at the site of the Sabine conflict. He is said to have converted that temple into the Curia Hostilia close to where the Senate originally met in an old Etruscan hut. In 600 BC Tarquinius Priscus had

1170-693: Is the best-preserved Roman hexastyle temple surviving from antiquity . Octastyle buildings had eight columns; they were considerably rarer than the hexastyle ones in the classical Greek architectural canon . The best-known octastyle buildings surviving from antiquity are the Parthenon in Athens , built during the Age of Pericles (450–430 BCE), and the Pantheon in Rome (125 CE). The destroyed Temple of Divus Augustus in Rome,

1260-515: Is the case despite attempts, with some success, to impose some order there, by Sulla , Julius Caesar , Augustus and others. By the Imperial period, the large public buildings that crowded around the central square had reduced the open area to a rectangle of about 130 by 50 meters. Its long dimension was oriented northwest to southeast and extended from the foot of the Capitoline Hill to that of

1350-448: Is the inner area of the portico of a Greek or Roman temple , situated between the portico's colonnade or walls and the entrance to the cella , or shrine. Roman temples commonly had an open pronaos, usually with only columns and no walls, and the pronaos could be as long as the cella . The word pronaos ( πρόναος ) is Greek for "before a temple". In Latin , a pronaos is also referred to as an anticum or prodomus . The pronaos of

1440-648: The Fall of the Western Roman Empire , and the resulting Gothic Wars between the Byzantine / Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths over Italia, much of the city of Rome fell into ruin, from famine, warfare, and lack of authority. The population of Rome was reduced from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands, as the populated areas contracted to the river, largely abandoning the forum. Strenuous efforts were made to keep

1530-510: The Lacus Curtius in the Forum, where he was killed. During these early Imperial times, much economic and judicial business transferred away from the Forum to larger and more extravagant structures to the north. After the building of Trajan's Forum (110 AD), these activities transferred to the Basilica Ulpia . The white marble Arch of Septimius Severus was added at the northwest end of

1620-478: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina , the Temple of Vesta , the steps and foundation of the Temple of Castor and Pollux , and the Regia . The Conservators protested vehemently against the ruination of their heritage, as they perceived it, and on one occasion applied fruitlessly to Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585) to revoke all licenses for foraging materials, including the one granted to the fabbrica of Saint Peter's in

1710-673: The Velian Hill . The Forum's basilicas during the Imperial period—the Basilica Aemilia on the north and the Basilica Julia on the south—defined its long sides and its final form. The Forum proper included this square, the buildings facing it and, sometimes, an additional area (the Forum Adjectum ) extending southeast as far as the Arch of Titus . Originally, the site of the Forum had been

1800-710: The Via Sacra and into the Forum. From here, they would mount the Capitoline Rise ( Clivus Capitolinus ) up to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the summit of the Capitol. Lavish public banquets ensued back down on the Forum. (In addition to the Via Sacra, the Forum was accessed by several storied roads and streets, including the Vicus Jugarius , Vicus Tuscus , Argiletum , and Via Nova.) Pottery deposits discovered in

1890-574: The White House is perhaps the most notable four-columned portico in the United States. Hexastyle buildings had six columns and were the standard façade in canonical Greek Doric architecture between the archaic period 600–550 BCE up to the Age of Pericles 450–430 BCE. Some well-known examples of classical Doric hexastyle Greek temples : Hexastyle was also applied to Ionic temples, such as

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1980-562: The maestri to issue their own excavation licenses was revoked by the Bull of Pope Nicholas V , which absorbed that power into the Vatican. From then on only two authorities in Rome had the power to issue such licenses: the Vatican and the Conservators. This dual, overlapping authority was recognized in 1462 by a Bull of Pope Pius II . Within the context of these disputes over jurisdiction, ruins in

2070-521: The "Black Stone" marble together over the Lapis Niger in Rome. Excavations in the Forum continue, with discoveries by archaeologists working in the Forum since 2009 leading to questions about Rome's exact age. One of these recent discoveries includes a tuff wall near the Lapis Niger used to channel water from nearby aquifers . Around the wall, pottery remains and food scraps allowed archaeologists to date

2160-443: The 13th century, these rearranged structures were torn down and the site became a dumping ground. This, along with the debris from the dismantled medieval buildings and ancient structures, helped contribute to the rising ground level. The return of Pope Urban V from Avignon in 1367 led to an increased interest in ancient monuments, partly for their moral lesson and partly as a quarry for new buildings being undertaken in Rome after

2250-514: The 5th century CE. These excavations discovered the Augustan-era paving, as well as post-Augustan levels (these levels being 10–6 meters below the current surface level). However, by the mid-6th century CE, the area was being used for burials instead. Portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade , with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea

2340-617: The Ara Pacis, with what seems to be an outer enclosure and an inner altar area; there were four fountains on the corners of the enclosure. However, the Ara Concordia is not named in the Severan Marble Plan, and it is not certain that this is the "magnificent shrine" ( magnifica aede ) to which Ovid is referring, or if the Ara Concordia was somewhere else nearby. Wherever it was located though, this altar would have been an important symbol of

2430-466: The Comitium, but eventually outgrew its day-to-day shopping and marketplace role. As political speeches, civil trials, and other public affairs began to take up more and more space in the Forum, additional fora throughout the city began to emerge to expand on specific needs of the growing population. Fora for cattle, pork, vegetables and wine specialised in their niche products and the associated deities. Rome's second king, Numa Pompilius (r. 715–673 BC),

2520-638: The Forum (and the Palatine structures) intact, not without some success. In the 6th century, some of the old edifices within the Forum began to be transformed into Christian churches. On 1 August 608, the Column of Phocas , a Roman monumental column , was erected before the Rostra and dedicated or rededicated in honour of the Eastern Roman Emperor Phocas . This proved to be the last monumental addition made to

2610-528: The Forum Romanum, as well. First, they stood next to the senate house; during the late Roman Republic, they were placed in front of the Basilica Porcia. The earliest basilicas (large, aisled halls) were introduced to the Forum in 184 BC by Marcus Porcius Cato , who thus began the process of "monumentalizing" the site. The Basilica Fulvia was dedicated on the north side of the Forum square in 179 BC. (It

2700-519: The Forum close to the foot of the Capitoline Hill and adjacent to the old, vanishing Comitium. It was dedicated in 203 AD to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons against Pescennius Niger and is one of the most visible landmarks there today. The arch closed the Forum's central area. Besides the Arch of Augustus, which was also constructed following a Roman victory against

2790-637: The Forum complex—the Basilica of Maxentius (312 AD). This returned the political centre to the Forum until the fall of the Western Roman Empire almost two centuries later. Unlike the later imperial fora in Rome—which were self-consciously modelled on the ancient Greek plateia (πλατεῖα) public plaza or town square —the Roman Forum developed gradually, organically, and piecemeal over many centuries. This

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2880-413: The Forum for the procession intended to imitate the pageantry of the ancient Roman triumph, the papal authorities undertook sweeping demolitions of the many medieval structures on the site, to reveal and better display the ancient monuments. This required the clearance of some 200 houses and several churches, the excavation of a new "Via Sacra" to pass under the arches of Titus and Septimius Severus , and

2970-464: The Forum, Palatine and Capitoline demonstrated that humans occupied these areas in the Final Bronze Age (1200–975 BC). In the early Iron Age an area of the future Forum, close to the site of Temple of Antoninus and Faustina , was used as a cemetery (10th century BC), possibly by the communities based on the Palatine and Capitoline hills. Most of the burials were cremations of the same type which

3060-702: The Forum, perhaps the most famous ever to transpire there: Marc Antony 's funeral oration for Caesar (immortalized in Shakespeare 's famous play ) was delivered from the partially completed speaker's platform known as the New Rostra and the public burning of Caesar's body occurred on a site directly across from the Rostra around which the Temple to the Deified Caesar was subsequently built by his great-nephew Octavius ( Augustus ). Almost two years later, Marc Antony added to

3150-405: The Forum, reach the lowest possible level of the Forum without damaging existing structures, and to identify already half-excavated structures, along with the Senate house and Basilica Aemilia. These state-funded excavations were led by Dr. Giacomo Boni until he died in 1925, stopping briefly during World War I. In 2008, heavy rains caused structural damage to the modern concrete covering holding

3240-411: The Forum. The 5th century BC witnessed the earliest Forum temples with known dates of construction: the Temple of Saturn (497 BC) and the Temple of Castor and Pollux (484 BC). The Temple of Concord was added in the following century, possibly by the soldier and statesman Marcus Furius Camillus . A long-held tradition of speaking from the elevated speakers' Rostra —originally facing north towards

3330-432: The Forum. The temple originally was to be built to the god Jupiter but was replaced with Saturn ; historians are unsure why. The building was not used solely for religious practice; the temple also functioned as a bank for Roman society. The Temple stood in the forum along with four other temples, the temples of Concord , Vesta , Castor and Pollox . At each temple, animal sacrifices and rituals were done in front of

3420-443: The Forum. The emperor Constans II , who visited the city in 663 AD, stripped the lead roofs of the monumental buildings, exposing the structures to the weather and hastening their deterioration. By the 8th century, the whole space was surrounded by Christian churches taking the place of abandoned and ruined temples. An anonymous eighth-century Einsiedeln Itinerary reports that the Forum was already falling apart at that time. During

3510-573: The House of the Vestals and the sanctuary of Vesta have revealed an important group of 7th-century-BC buildings. The archaeologists have identified them as the early phases of the Regia (House of the kings), House of the Vestals, and Domus Publica (official residence of the pontifex maximus ). There seems to have been something of a surge in development of the Forum in the last quarter of the 7th century BC, as many of

3600-569: The Middle Ages, though the memory of the Forum Romanum persisted, its monuments were for the most part buried under debris, and its location was designated the "Campo Vaccino" or "cattle field," located between the Capitoline Hill and the Colosseum . After the eighth century, the structures of the Forum were dismantled, rearranged, and used to build towers and castles within the local area. In

3690-524: The Parthians, it is the only triumphal arch in the Forum. The Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305) was the last of the great builders of Rome's city infrastructure and he did not omit the Forum from his program. By his day it had become highly cluttered with honorific memorials. He refurbished and reorganized it, building anew the Temple of Saturn , the Temple of Vesta and the Curia Julia . The latter represents

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3780-468: The Roman Forum. Little is known about when the temple was built, as the original temple is believed to have been burnt down by the Gauls early in the fourth century. However, it is understood that it was also rebuilt by Munatius Plancus in 42 BC. The eight remaining columns are all that is left of the illustrious temple. Though its exact date of completion is not known, it stands as one of the oldest buildings in

3870-479: The Senate House to the assembled politicians and elites—put the orator's back to the people assembled in the Forum. A tribune known as Caius Licinius (consul in 361 BC) is said to have been the first to turn away from the elite towards the Forum, an act symbolically repeated two centuries later by Gaius Gracchus . This began the tradition of locus popularis , in which even young nobles were expected to speak to

3960-523: The alliance between Romulus , the first king of Rome controlling the Palatine Hill , and his rival, Titus Tatius , who occupied the Capitoline Hill . An alliance formed after combat had been halted by the prayers and cries of the Sabine women. Because the valley lay between the two settlements, it was the designated place for the two peoples to meet. Since the early Forum area included pools of stagnant water,

4050-406: The archaic Comitium was replaced by the larger adjacent Forum, and the focus of judicial activity moved to the new Basilica Aemilia (179 BC). Some 130 years later, Julius Caesar built the Basilica Julia , along with the new Curia Julia , refocusing both the judicial offices and the Senate itself. This new Forum, in what proved to be its final form, then served as a revitalized city square where

4140-450: The area paved for the first time. Originally a low-lying, grassy wetland , the Forum was drained in the 7th century BC with the building of the first structures of Cloaca Maxima , a large covered sewer system that emptied into the Tiber , as more people began to settle between the two hills. Archaeological evidence shows that by the end of the 7th century BC, the ground level of the Forum was raised significantly in some places to overcome

4230-482: The best-preserved tetrarchic building in Rome. He also reconstructed the rostra at each end of the Forum and added columns. The reign of Constantine the Great saw the completion of the construction of the Basilica of Maxentius (312 AD), the last significant expansion of the Forum complex. This restored much of the political focus to the Forum until the fall of the Western Roman Empire almost two centuries later. After

4320-401: The central location for all judicial and political life in the city. However, to create a larger gathering place, the Senate began expanding the open area between the Comitium and the Temple of Vesta by purchasing existing private homes and removing them for public use. Building projects of several consuls repaved and built onto both the Comitium and the adjacent central plaza that was becoming

4410-551: The centre of the Augustan cult, is shown on Roman coins of the 2nd century CE as having been built in octastyle. The decastyle has ten columns; as in the temple of Apollo Didymaeus at Miletus , and the portico of University College London . The only known Roman decastyle portico is on the Temple of Venus and Roma , built by Hadrian in about 130 CE. Roman forum The Roman Forum ( Italian : Foro Romano ), also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ,

4500-400: The changes date from 625 to 600 BC. Archaeologically, there is substantial evidence for development of the Forum in the 6th century BC: parts of the paving have been found and a large number of fragments of terracotta decorations from this area suggests that structures around the Forum were becoming more elaborate and highly decorated. During the Republican period, the Comitium continued to be

4590-489: The companions of the conspirator Catiline at the Forum (in the Temple of Concord , whose spacious hall was sometimes used as a meeting place by the Senators). After the verdict, they were led to their deaths at the Tullianum , the nearby dungeon which was the only known state prison of the ancient Romans. Over time, the Comitium was lost to the ever-growing Curia and to Julius Caesar 's rearrangements before his assassination in 44 BC. That year, two events were witnessed by

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4680-407: The discovery of carbonized wood. An important function of the Forum, during both Republican and Imperial times, was to serve as the culminating venue for the celebratory military processions known as Triumphs . Victorious generals entered the city by the western Triumphal Gate ( Porta Triumphalis ) and circumnavigated the Palatine Hill (counterclockwise) before proceeding from the Velian Hill down

4770-407: The earliest ancient materials collected in the area of the Vulcanal are from the second half of the 8th century BC. It appears that the Romans were aware of the sites’ archaic origins: the foundation of the Comitium and Vulcanal were attributed to Romulus himself while the first Curia (senate house), which was located nearby, to Tullus Hostilius . At the western end of the Forum, excavations near

4860-431: The excavation of the more prominent monuments to reveal their foundations. In 1425, Pope Martin V issued a papal bull inaugurating a campaign of civic improvement and rebuilding in the city, which was depopulated and dominated by ruins. The demand for building materials consequently increased significantly, making the Forum a convenient quarry for stone and marble. Since the 12th century, when Rome's civic government

4950-404: The focus of popular politics, in 145 BC. In 133 BC the Tribune Tiberius Gracchus was lynched there by a group of senators. In the 80s BC, during the dictatorship of Sulla , major work was done on the Forum including the raising of the plaza level by almost a meter and the laying of permanent marble paving stones. Remarkably, this level of the paving was maintained more or less intact for over

5040-428: The forum occurred under Paul III, who in 1540 revoked previous excavation licenses and brought the forum exclusively under the control of the Deputies of the Fabric of the new Saint Peter's Basilica , who exploited the site for stone and marble. Monuments which fell victim to dismantling and the subsequent burning of their materials for lime included the remains of the Arch of Augustus , the Temple of Caesar , parts of

5130-417: The forum were increasingly exploited and stripped. In 1426, a papal license authorized the destruction of the foundations of a structure called the "Templum Canapare" for burning into lime, provided that half the stone quarried be shared with the Apostolic Camera (the Papal treasury). This structure was identified by Rodolfo Lanciani as the Basilica Julia , but the name could have applied to any structure in

5220-424: The forum. The excavation by Carlo Fea , who began clearing the debris from the Arch of Septimius Severus in 1803 marked the beginning of clearing the Forum. Excavations were officially begun in 1898 by the Italian government under the Minister of Public Instruction, Dr. Baccelli. The 1898, restoration had three main objectives: restore fragmented pieces of columns, bases, and cornices to their original locations in

5310-418: The four columned portico for their pseudoperipteral temples like the Temple of Portunus , and for amphiprostyle temples such as the Temple of Venus and Roma , and for the prostyle entrance porticos of large public buildings like the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine . Roman provincial capitals also manifested tetrastyle construction, such as the Capitoline Temple in Volubilis . The North Portico of

5400-462: The kings), House of the Vestals and Domus Publica . Around 650–630 BC the area of the Comitium was excavated into a deep triangular depression. The area was paved with a beaten earth pavement and later replaced with a more substantial gravel one. Nearby was located an archaic sanctuary dedicated to Vulcan known as Vulcanal (also Volcanal ): a small rectangular pit and elliptical basin carved out of an outcrop of tuff . It has been suggested that

5490-421: The level in early Republican times. As the ground around buildings rose, residents simply paved over the debris that was too much to remove. Its final travertine paving, still visible, dates from the reign of Augustus . Excavations in the 19th century revealed one layer on top of another. The deepest level excavated was 3.60 meters above sea level . Archaeological finds show human activity at that level with

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5580-417: The likely construction of the wall to the 8th or 9th century BC, over a century before the traditional date of Rome's founding. In 2020, Italian archaeologists discovered a sarcophagus and a circular altar dating to the 6th century BC. Experts disagree whether it is a memorial tomb dedicated to Rome's legendary founder, Romulus . The Temple of Saturn was one of the more significant buildings located in

5670-475: The most easily accessible area was the northern part of the valley which was designated as the Comitium . It was here at the Vulcanal that, according to the story, the two parties laid down their weapons and formed an alliance. The Forum was outside the walls of the original Sabine fortress, which was entered through the Porta Saturni. These walls were mostly destroyed when the two hills were joined. The original Forum functioned as an open-air market abutting on

5760-422: The notoriety of the Rostra by publicly displaying the severed head and right hand of his enemy Cicero there. After Julius Caesar's death and the end of the subsequent civil war , Augustus finished his great-uncle's work, giving the Forum its final form. This included the southeastern end of the plaza where he constructed the Temple of Caesar and the Arch of Augustus there (both in 29 BC). The Temple of Caesar

5850-476: The occasion. Livia alone received credit for the Ara Concordia, which was dedicated separately from the portico on June 11, the feast day of Mater Matuta . There are no visible remains of the portico today, but its dimensions and basic structure are known. It was rectangular, measuring about 120 meters in length and 95 meters in width; one of the short ends was aligned with the Clivus Suburanus. The Severan Marble Plan (see image above) thankfully preserves parts of

5940-402: The oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. The Roman Kingdom 's earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. These included the ancient former royal residence, the Regia (8th century BC), and the Temple of Vesta (7th century BC), as well as the surrounding complex of the Vestal Virgins , all of which were rebuilt after

6030-447: The people from the Rostra. Gracchus was thus credited with (or accused of) disturbing the mos maiorum ("custom of the fathers/ancestors") in ancient Rome. When Censor in 318 BC, Gaius Maenius provided buildings in the Forum neighborhood with balconies, which were called after him maeniana , so that the spectators might better view the games put on within the temporary wooden arenas set up there. The Tribune benches were placed on

6120-412: The people of Rome could gather for commercial, political, judicial and religious pursuits in ever greater numbers. Eventually, much economic and judicial business would transfer away from the Forum Romanum to the larger and more extravagant structures ( Trajan's Forum and the Basilica Ulpia ) to the north. The reign of Constantine the Great saw the construction of the last major expansion of

6210-419: The portico of Livia, after its foundress.. Strabo the geographer names the portico as one of the most splendid monuments in central Rome. Suetonius lists it in his Lives of the Caesars as one of the monuments that Augustus built on behalf of his family members (along with the portico of Octavia , the theatre of Marcellus , and others). Cassius Dio also mentions the portico in his Roman History, which

6300-403: The portico was almost completely destroyed; the only evidence that remains is the rough floor levels and later burials on the site. The portico is mentioned in a variety of ancient works. Ovid's description in his Fasti emphasizes Livia's piety in dedicating the Ara Concordia, as well as the significance of Augustus replacing a luxurious private house. To thee, too, Concordia, Livia dedicated

6390-489: The portico, showing its large rectangular shape, the double colonnade, the rectangular enclosure in the middle, and the access points to the streets. The portico included gardens, walking space, and works of art such as paintings, creating a luxurious and leisurely area. It is notable that this was a public space, and its construction supported Augustus' ideals of reducing private displays of wealth in favour of public building projects. Archaeological excavations in 1984 show that

6480-401: The powers of the maestri in protecting the ruins, but in conferring papal authority the Vatican essentially brought the maestri under its control and away from the independence of the Conservators. In the 15th century, the Vatican escalated the issuance of excavation licenses, which gave broad permission to individuals to mine specific sites or structures for stone. In 1452, the ability of

6570-454: The problems of poor drainage and provide a foundation for a pebble-paved area. In the middle of the 7th century BC thatch-and-timber huts were demolished on the route of the Via Sacra and rectangular stone buildings began to replace them. The earliest structures in the Forum were discovered in two separate locations: the site of the Comitium and the group of sanctuaries of Regia (House of

6660-623: The prostyle porch of the sanctuary of Athena on the Erechtheum , at the Acropolis of Athens . With the colonization by the Greeks of Southern Italy , hexastyle was adopted by the Etruscans and subsequently acquired by the ancient Romans . Roman taste favoured narrow pseudoperipteral and amphiprostyle buildings with tall columns, raised on podiums for the added pomp and grandeur conferred by considerable height. The Maison Carrée at Nîmes , France ,

6750-568: The religious sites. These acts were meant to provide good fortune to those entering and using the temple. Since the Temple of Saturn also functioned as a bank, and since Saturn was the god of the Golden Age, sacrifices were made there in the hope of financial success. Inside the Temple, there were multiple vaults for the public and private ones for individuals. There were also sections of the Temple for public speaking events and feasts which often followed

6840-564: The rise of imperial Rome . Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as the Umbilicus Urbis and the Vulcanal (Shrine of Vulcan), developed into the Republic 's formal Comitium (assembly area). This was where the Senate —as well as Republican government itself—began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials and statues gradually cluttered the area. Over time,

6930-489: The sacrifices. From the 17th through the 19th century, the Roman Forum was a site for many artists and architects studying in Rome to sketch. The focus of many of these works produced by visiting Northern artists was on the current state of the Roman Forum, known locally as the Campo Vaccino, or "cow field", from the livestock who grazed on the largely ignored section of the city. Claude Lorrain 's 1636 Campo Vaccino shows

7020-499: The senate on the Capitol, and she gave one on her own account to the women somewhere or other. Pliny the Elder mentions the portico in his Natural History as well, but only in reference to a certain vine which grew over the walkways of the portico, supposedly capable of producing 12 amphorae of juice per year. Pliny the Younger also references the portico of Livia in his Letters simply as

7110-420: The sites of the key public buildings point to a transformation of the Forum from a cemetery to a public site in the 8th century BC. Part of the Forum was paved over. The earliest finds in the sites of the Comitium and Vulcanal were votive offerings. They indicate that the area was dedicated to a celebration of religious cults. According to Roman historical tradition, the Forum's beginnings are connected with

7200-416: The traditional family values that Augustus so strongly supported during his reign. The "aede" of Concordia could be interpreted as a symbol of marital harmony between Livia and Augustus; the surrounding portico would have been another symbol of family unity due to its dedication by Livia and her son. According to excavations carried out in 1984, there is evidence that the portico area continued to be used into

7290-590: The venue for public speeches, criminal trials and gladiatorial matches ; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's leaders. The heart of ancient Rome , it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills , the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million or more sightseers yearly. Many of

7380-655: The western section of the Forum, often called the Canapare or Cannapara . Between 1431 and 1462 the huge travertine wall between the Senate House and the Forum of Caesar adjoining the Forum Romanum was demolished by a grant of Pope Eugene IV , followed by the demolition of the Templum Sacrae Urbis (1461–1462), the Temple of Venus and Roma (1450), and the House of the Vestals (1499), all by papal license. The worst destruction in

7470-462: The year in which he was consul with Gnaeus Piso convened the senate in the Curia Octaviae, because it was outside the pomerium. After assigning to himself the duty of repairing the temple of Concord, in order that he might inscribe upon it his own name and that of Drusus, he celebrated his triumph, and in company with his mother dedicated the precinct called the precinct of Livia. He gave a banquet to

7560-494: Was based as much on spite as on the desire to build a public work in Livia's name. In Book 55 of his History, he also describes Tiberius' involvement with the portico and the festivities that accompanied its dedication. The temple of Concordia which Tiberius worked to repair was in the Roman forum , and it is not related to the Ara Concordia attributed to Livia. Tiberius on the first day of

7650-558: Was formed, responsibility for protecting the ruins of the forum fell to the maestri di strade under the authority of the Conservatori , Rome's senior magistrates. Historically, the maestri and the Conservatori saw themselves as guardians of Rome's ancient legacy and zealously protected the ruins in the Forum from further destruction, but in the 15th century the Papacy gradually encroached upon these prerogatives. The Bull of 1425 strengthened

7740-450: Was in the midst of the fairly crowded Subura neighbourhood, and the new leisure space was probably welcomed by the residents of the area. The portico was so close to the Baths of Trajan that the north corner of the baths almost touched the southwest corner of the portico. To the north of the portico, a basilica was built in late antiquity ( San Martino ai Monti ), although there are remains of

7830-438: Was placed between Caesar's funeral pyre and the Regia. The Temple's location and reconstruction of adjacent structures resulted in greater organization akin to the Forum of Caesar . The Forum was also witness to the assassination of a Roman Emperor in 69 AD: Galba had set out from the palace to meet rebels but was so feeble that he had to be carried in a litter. He was immediately met by a troop of his rival Otho 's cavalry near

7920-464: Was rebuilt and renamed several times, as Basilica Fulvia et Aemilia, Basilica Paulli, Basilica Aemilia ). Nine years later, the Basilica Sempronia was dedicated on the south side. Many of the traditions from the Comitium, such as the popular assemblies, funerals of nobles, and games, were transferred to the Forum as it developed. Especially notable was the move of the comitia tributa , then

8010-508: Was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultures, including most Western cultures . Porticos are sometimes topped with pediments . Palladio was a pioneer of using temple-fronts for secular buildings. In the UK , the temple-front applied to The Vyne , Hampshire, was the first portico applied to an English country house . A pronaos ( UK : / p r oʊ ˈ n eɪ . ɒ s / or US : / p r oʊ ˈ n eɪ . ə s / )

8100-430: Was written about 200 years after the portico was constructed. In Book 54 of his work he criticizes the character of Vedius Pollio , describing him as so wealthy and so cruel that he threw his slaves into a pool of carnivorous eels if they displeased him. Allegedly, Augustus visited Pollio and was displeased with his cruelty; therefore, after Pollio died and left the emperor his estate, Augustus' choice to tear down his house

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