Roman Forum

Why go

The Roman Forum began to take its present form after the valley was drained from the end of the seventh century BC and was the centre of public life in Rome for over a millennium, according to Rome's official tourism site. Its monuments include the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, the Arch of Septimius Severus (203 AD), Maxentius's basilica on the Velia and the Column of Phocas (608 AD), which the same site calls the last monument built there. The Forum and the Palatine are one archaeological area within the Parco archeologico del Colosseo: Rome's tourism office lists entrances at the Arch of Titus, the Varco Vignola on Via di San Gregorio, Largo della Salara Vecchia and the Carcere Mamertino, and says the same ticket does not let you enter that area a second time. The park's own website could not be opened for this record, so check entry rules with the park before you go. The map point is a point inside the Forum, not an entrance.