Trajan's Forum, Rome, Italy

Trajan's Forum was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. It was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war from the conquest of Dacia, which ended in 106. The Forum was inaugurated in 112, while Trajan's Column was erected and then inaugurated in 113.

The Forum consisted of a vast portico-lined piazza measuring 300 metres long and 185 metres wide exedrae on two sides. The main entrance to the forum lay on the southern side, via a triumphal arch surmounted by a statue of Trajan in a six-horse chariot. The Basilica Ulpia lies at the north end of the piazza, which was cobbled with rectangular blocks of white marble and decorated by a large equestrian statue of Trajan. On either side of the piazza are markets, also housed by the exedrae.

North of the Basilica was a smaller piazza, with a temple dedicated to the deified Trajan on the far north side facing inwards. The position of - and very existence of - the temple dedicated to the deified Trajan is a matter of hotly contested debate among archaeologists, particularly clear in the ongoing debate between James E. Packer and Roberto Meneghini. Directly north of the Basilica Ulpia on either side of the forum were two libraries, one housing Latin documents and the other Greek documents. Between the libraries stood the 38-metre Trajan's Column.

In the mid-9th century, the marble cobble blocks of the piazza were systematically taken for re-use, because of the good quality of the lime. At the same time, the pavement was restored in wrought as a sign that the piazza was still in use as a public space.

In modern times only a section of the markets and the column of Trajan remain. A number of columns which historically formed the Basilica Ulpia remained on site, and have been re-erected. Today Trajan's forum has become well known for its large population of feral cats.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Robert Chomicz (3 years ago)
Not much remains of this former, ancient market place. Whats neat about it is that it is free to view as it is surrounded by sidewalks and below street level so you can get a nice view of the remains of the buildings. The best part about it are the reconstructed columns in the northern end of the site

Daniel-Marian Merezeanu (3 years ago)
Nice monument. The column of Traian was erected to remember the conquest of the area situated north to Danube river - Dacia, populated by the dacian tribes (a kind of Traian ones), ruled by king Decebal at that time.

Ankit Maisuria (4 years ago)
Astonishing architecture of Aboriginal Roman and how they used construction method. Once in a life you have to visit this ancient monuments to felt in love with it.

Arielle Tandowski (4 years ago)
The best time to go is at night when it's all lit up!

Gary Broxup (5 years ago)
If you know the story of Trajans column ,it's good to see it

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Trajan's Forum

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus