Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that Rome was once free. Picture the backdrop these speakers would have had—a mountain
of marble buildings piling up on Capitoline Hill.
In front of the Rostrum are trees bearing fruits that were sacred to the ancient Romans:
olives(providedfood,light,andpreservatives),figs(tasty),andwinegrapes(madeapopular
export product).
• The big arch to the right of the Rostrum is the...
Arch of Septimius Severus:
In imperial times, the Rostrum's voices of democracy
would have been dwarfed by images of the empire, such as the huge six-story-high Arch of
Septimius Severus (
A.D.
203). The reliefs commemorate the African-born emperor's battles
inMesopotamia.Neargroundlevel,seesoldiersmarchingcapturedbarbariansbacktoRome
for the victory parade. Despite Severus' efficient rule, Rome's empire was crumbling under
the weight of its own corruption, disease, decaying infrastructure, and the constant attacks
by foreign “barbarians.”
• Pass underneath the Arch of Septimius Severus and turn left. If the path is blocked, back-
track toward theTemple ofJulius Caesar andaroundthesquare.Ontheslope ofCapitoline
Hill are the eight remaining columns of the...
Temple of Saturn:
These columns framed the entrance to the Forum's oldest temple
(497
B.C.
). Inside was a humble, very old wooden statue of the god Saturn. But the statue's
pedestal held the gold bars, coins, and jewels of Rome's state treasury, the booty collected
by conquering generals.
• Standing here, at one of the Forum's first buildings, look east at the lone, tall...
Column of Phocas—Rome's Fall:
This is the Forum's last monument (
A.D.
608),
a gift from the powerful Byzantine Empire to a fallen empire—Rome. Given to commem-
orate the pagan Pantheon's becoming a Christian church, it's like a symbolic last nail in
ancient Rome's coffin. After Rome's 1,000-year reign, the city was looted by Vandals, the
population of a million-plus shrank to about 10,000, and the once-grand city center—the
Forum—was abandoned, slowly covered up by centuries of silt and dirt. In the 1700s, an
English historian named Edward Gibbon overlooked this spot from Capitoline Hill. Hearing
Christian monks singing at these pagan ruins, he looked out at the few columns poking up
from the ground, pondered the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and thought, “Hmm,
that's a catchy title....”
• From here, you have several options:
1. Exiting past the Arch of Titus lands you at the Colosseum (
here
).
2.ExitingpasttheArchofSeptimiusSeverusleadsyoutothestairsuptoCapitolineHill
(
here
).
