The Roman Forum

Italy’s capital city offers something for everyone. Marvels are around every corner of the city and the old proverb Rome wasn’t built in a day sounds so true as you explore the Eternal city.
The Roman Forum, also known as Forum Romanum, the Forum Magnum or just the Forum, was once the pulsating heart of the empire and the commercial, political, administrative and religious center of ancient Roman life, filled with temples, palaces and shops and crowded with people from all over the empire. It still includes the ruins of the government and a number of commercial buildings. Walk to the top of the Palatine Hill, from which you can enjoy breathtaking views of Rome, spanning from the Colosseum, to the Roman Forum and the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II.
Throughout history, Romans have built and rebuilt the Forum over and over again, so its ruins date back to various eras. What you see now are not the remains and ruins from just one period in time, but from a span of over 900 years, from about 500 B.C. to 400 A.D. This enormous area, with its columns and fragments, is a real must-see itinerary when visiting the Eternal City. Some of the structures within the Forum Magnum include the Arch of Titus, 3 columns from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, a number of temples as well as the ruins of Palatine Hill.
You can enter on Via dei Fori Imperali and then descend into the stunning archaeological complex that is the Forum Romanum, which originally was just a boggy valley between the and Palatine Capitoline hills, used as a cemetery in the Iron Age. The land was drained and a market center and huts were established here over the years. Then this enormous area became a lively political, religious and commercial center.
The Forum is open every day of the year, apart from Christmas and New Year’s Day. It opens at 08.30 a.m. and closing time is one hour before sunset. Access to the Forum is no longer free and is included in the Colosseum ticket, which allows access to the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill and the Forum.

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