Page 82 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Rome

80  ROME AREA B Y AREA

A Tour of the Roman Forum: West

To appreciate the layout of the Forum before visiting its confusing
patchwork of ruined temples and basilicas, it is best to view the whole
area from above, from the back of the Capitol. From there you can
make out the Via Sacra (the Sacred Way), the route followed through
the Forum by religious and triumphal
processions toward the Capitol.
Up until the 18th century, when
archaeological excavations began,
the Arch of Septimius Severus and the
columns of the Temple of Saturn lay
half-buried underground. Excavation
of the Forum continues, and the ruins
uncovered date from many different
periods of Roman history.

The Temple of Vespasian was
the point from where Piranesi
made this 18th-century
engraving of the Forum.
Its three columns
were then almost
V I A D E L L A C U R I A
completely buried.

Temple of
Concord

Portico of the Dii
Consentes
5 Temple of Saturn
The eight surviving columns of this
temple stand close to the three
columns of the Temple of Vespasian.

Arch of Septimius
Severus

3 Rostra V I A S A C R A
These are the
ruins of the
platform used
for public oratory
in the Forum.

7 Basilica Julia
Named after Julius Caesar, who
ordered its construction, the basilica
housed important law courts.

6 Column of Phocas
One of the very last monuments
erected in the Forum, this single
column dates from AD 608.

US_080-081_EW_Rome_US.indd 80 15/03/17 3:52 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2)
Date 3rd September 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm