Roman Forum

The Forum, for centuries, was the center of day-to-day life in Rome.  It was the site of triumphal processions and elections.  It was also the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the epicentre of commercial affairs.

This is the place where statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The Forum is the teeming 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 place today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million or more sightseers yearly.

Not surprisingly, many of 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. They 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 the rise of imperial Rome