Where: Rome, Italy
When: February 5, 2012
With: Loren and Rachel
Turning onto the Via dei Fori Imperiali was one of the more awe-inspiring moments in my life. Being a total classics nerd, and knowing that I was staring down the Colosseum with the ancient forums on either side of me, I was so giddy.
On our left was the start of the Imperial Forum. The two church domes are the end of "modern" construction (they're still probably hundreds of years old), and Trajan's column on the right marks the start of the old stuff.
The Imperial Forums are made up of several different forums all created by various emperors throughout the years. The first one was started in 46 BC by Caesar and the last was created by Trajan in 113 AD. Trajan's column marks his forum - the scroll around it commemorates Trajan's victories in the Dacian Wars, and if it was unrolled would stretch over two football fields.
Unfortunately, I think this forum went back much further than we could see from the road. It seems like a ton more of it is still in tact. But alas, the snow kept us around the perimeter.
Here's a sketch of what the ruins may have looked like, but I have no idea from what perspective this is:
When: February 5, 2012
With: Loren and Rachel
Turning onto the Via dei Fori Imperiali was one of the more awe-inspiring moments in my life. Being a total classics nerd, and knowing that I was staring down the Colosseum with the ancient forums on either side of me, I was so giddy.
On our left was the start of the Imperial Forum. The two church domes are the end of "modern" construction (they're still probably hundreds of years old), and Trajan's column on the right marks the start of the old stuff.
The Imperial Forums are made up of several different forums all created by various emperors throughout the years. The first one was started in 46 BC by Caesar and the last was created by Trajan in 113 AD. Trajan's column marks his forum - the scroll around it commemorates Trajan's victories in the Dacian Wars, and if it was unrolled would stretch over two football fields.
Here was our first mild let-down of the snow. I believe you can walk through the forums when its nice out, but the snow made it too dangerous to let us down. However, I think the snow-covered forum pictures are probably pretty novel if this was the first snowfall Rome has had in 25 years.
Continuing along the Imperial Forum, we came to the site of the Basilica Ulpia. Now, only the columns remain (which is still impressive as they were put up almost 2,000 years ago). To attempt to make sense of what we're looking at, I've included an artist sketch of what these columns may have held up.
Next, we came up to the main center of Trajan's forum. Again, I've included an artist's sketch of what this probably all used to look like. It's amazing how something built so long ago shaped the way the roads are paved today.
At this point, we flipped to the other side of the street to the Roman forums. Since its original construction in the 8th century BC, it remained the center of Roman public life for centuries.
Unfortunately, I think this forum went back much further than we could see from the road. It seems like a ton more of it is still in tact. But alas, the snow kept us around the perimeter.
Here's a sketch of what the ruins may have looked like, but I have no idea from what perspective this is:
The man who started it all: Julius Caesar
After the ruins, we set our sites towards the granddaddy of them all: The Colosseum.
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