General View of the Forum

‎Few spots on earth have a more resounding name or a more imposing history than the Roman Forum. This spot, “where the Senate held its assemblies, and where the destinies of the world were discussed, is the most celebrated and the most classical of ancient Rome.” Forum, a Latin word, originally signified “an open place,” and is probably connected with foras, “out of doors.” The Roman fora were places where the markets and courts of justice were held. The most ancient and celebrated of all the fora judicialia of ancient Rome was the Forum Romanum, or, par excellence, the Forum Magnum, occupying the quarter now known as the Campo Vaccino, or cattle market. The Forum lies between the Arch of Titus and the Capitol. It is crowded with the relics of temples, basilicas, arches and columns. The most magnificent monuments once adorned it, which were so crowded upon one another that their heaped up ruins have proved sadly bewildering to the antiquarians, who have long sought to unravel the mysteries of the ages. The principal objects in the Forum are the Arch of Septimius Severus, which was erected A. D. 205 in honor of that emperor and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta; the temple of Vespasian, three columns of which are still standing, and of remarkable beauty; the temple of Saturn, the ancient god of the Capitol, eight Ionic columns of which still remain; and the column of Phocas, “The nameless column with a buried base” of Byron, now happily brought to light and found to bear a name that no one ever anticipated. It was erected in 608, and may be regarded as the center of the Forum Romanum. The ruin of the Forum dates from Robert Guiscard, who, when called to the assistance of Gregory VII., left it a heap of ruins.