Lazio, Italy
Destination guide
The Eternal City – 2,000 extraordinary years of glory, greatness and triumph – and decadence, murder and destruction – evidenced by some of the world’s most iconic, must-see monuments and museums.
Travel bucket list idea:
Imperial Fora
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Last updated: 23 April, 2024
Adjacent to Rome’s original Forum, these tremendous ruins – a series of squares known as fora – were among the greatest works of the Romans.
These are several successive works, built by Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nerva and Trajan; each was a huge collonaded square with a monumental building at the centre.
Trajan’s had a great library as well as Trajan’s Column, covered in reliefs celebrating imperial victories. Next to this is the enormous, well-preserved Trajan’s Market, which has been called the ‘world’s first shopping mall’.
Logistics
Price: Free
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
The entrance to the site is in Piazza Santa Maria di Loreto, near Trajan’s Column.
From there, following the footpath through the site, which meanders through a part of the Forum of Trajan, under Via dei Fori Imperiali, through the cellars of the Quartiere Alessandrino, across the Forum of Caesar and finishes near the Forum of Nerva. You exit there onto Via dei Fori Imperiali.
When to do it
The site is open all year round, seven days a week.
Destination guides
Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
Round-ups
Round-ups that include this experience
Multiple countries
Inspiration
Leading European travel writer Dana Facaros, with a passionate interest in archaeological sites, round-ups the best ruins and remnants of arguably the world’s greatest empire.