Imperial fora
The Imperial Fora (Fori Imperiali in Italian) are a series of monumental fora (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The fora were the center of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire.
The Imperial Fora, while not part of the Roman Forum, are located relatively close to each other. Julius Caesar was the first to build in this section of Rome and rearranged both the Forum and the Comitium, another forum type space designated for politics, to do so. These fora were the centres of politics, religion and economy in the ancient Roman Empire.
During the early 20th century, Mussolini restored the Imperial Fora as part of his campaign to evoke and emulate the past glories of Ancient Rome, but he also built the Via dei Fori Imperiali across the middle of the site. The modern street and its heavy traffic has proved a source of damage to the buildings because of vibration and pollution. There have been a number of proposals to remove the road, but none have taken effect.
Forum of Caesar
Julius Caesar decided to construct a large forum bearing his name. This forum was inaugurated in 46 BC, although it was probably incomplete at this time and was finished later by Augustus.
The Forum of Caesar was constructed as an extension to the Roman Forum. The Forum was used as a replacement venue to the Roman Forum for public affairs as well as government; it was also designed as a celebration of Caesar's power. Caesar had placed, on the front of his forum, a temple devoted to Venus Genetrix, since Caesar's family (gens Julia) claimed to descend by Venus through Aeneas. A statue of Caesar himself riding Bucephalus, the celebrated horse of Alexander the Great, was placed in front of the temple, to symbolise absolute power.[citation needed] This centralised vision corresponded to the ideological function, following the propaganda of the Hellenistic sanctuaries; also the choice of the Forum site carried a meaning: the future dictator didn't want to be far from the central power, represented in the Curia, seat of the Senate. In fact, not long before Caesar's death, the Senate agreed to reconstruct the Curia on the site.
Forum of Augustus
In the battle of Philippi in 42 BC, in which Augustus and Mark Antony worked together and avenged Caesar's death, defeating the forces of Brutus and Cassius, Augustus vowed to build the Temple of Mars Ultor ("Mars the Avenger"). The incomplete forum was inaugurated, after 40 years of construction, in 2 BC, adding the second monumental square, the Forum of Augustus.
This new complex lies at right angles to the Forum of Caesar. The temple consists of a very tall wall, and this still distinguishes itself from the popular neighbourhood of Suburra. This high wall served as a firebreak, protecting the Forum area from the frequent conflagrations from which Rome suffered. The rectangular square has long deep porticos with a surface that widens into large semicircular exedras.
Recently one more slightly smaller exedra was found south on the wall bordering the Forum of Trajan, meaning that for the sake of symmetry there must have been other exedra demolished to make room for the forum of Nerva, rising the number to four and not two exedras. This completely changed the layout for the south part of the Forum of Augustus, meaning that it is much more similar to the Forum of Trajan and a new theory for this southern part of the forum suggests that in fact there was a basilica between the two new exedras (like in the Forum of Trajan). This supports the numerous ancient authors that tell us the forum was used as a court of law.
The entire decoration of the Forum was tightly connected to the ideology of Augustus. According to myth, Rome herself was born from the god Mars through Romulus. This forum was occupied by . . .
Temple of Peace
In 75 AD, the Temple of Peace, also known as the Forum of Vespasian, was built under Emperor Vespasian. Separated from the Forum of Augustus and the Forum of Caesar by the Argiletum, which connected the Roman Forum to the Subura, the temple faced the Velian Hill (in the direction of the Colosseum). The fact that this structure is not mentioned as having a civil function has prevented it from being classified as a true Forum. Therefore, the structure was simply identified as the Temple of Peace (Templum Pacis) until the late Empire.
The shape of the square was also different: the temple was constructed as a large apsidal hall that opened up like an exedra at the bottom of the portico. A row of columns distinguished the portico from the temple. The central area was not paved like other fora and served as a garden, with pools and pedestals for statues, so that it was similar to an open-air museum.
The monument was built to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem. One of the chambers opened at the end of the porticos housed the Forma Urbis Romae, a marble map of ancient Rome, made in the Severan period (3rd century) by drawing on the marble slab that covered the wall. The wall is now part of the façade of the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano, where the holes used to mount the slabs of the map can still be seen. The Temple of Peace is also said to have housed the Menorah from Herod's Temple.[1]
Forum of Nerva, or the Transitional Forum
Domitian decided to unify the previous complex and the free remaining irregular area, between the Temple of Peace and the Fora of Caesar and Augustus, and build another monumental forum which connected all of the other fora.
The limited space, partially occupied by one of the exedrae of the Forum of Augustus and by the via dell'Argileto, obliged Domitian to build the lateral porticos as simply decorations of the bounding walls of the forum. The temple, dedicated to Minerva as protector of the emperor, was built leaning on the exedra of the Forum of Augustus, so that the remaining space became a large monumental entrance (Porticus Absidatus) for all the fora.
Because of the death of Domitian, the forum was inaugurated by his successor, Nerva, who gave his own name to it. The Forum of Nerva is also known as Transitional Forum, because it worked as an access way, just like via dell'Argileto had done.
Forum of Trajan
It is probable that Domitian's projects were more ambitious than the building of the small Forum of Nerva and probably under his reign they started to remove the small saddle that united the Capitoline Hill to the Quirinal Hill, thus blocking the Fora towards Campus Martius, near to modern Piazza Venezia.
The project was resumed by Trajan with the construction of Trajan's Forum between 112 and 113. The occasion was the conquest of Dacia, whose spoils paid for this celebration of the military conquests of Rome.
The preparation of the Forum required a lot of work. It was necessary to remove the hilly saddle, and to support the cut of Quirinal Hill through the building of Trajan's market. The Forum square was closed by the Basilica Ulpia, with Trajan's Column at its back. In front of the basilica, a monumental façade was the background of a large, equestrian sculpture of the Emperor. The last Forum was also the biggest and greatest.[2]
Museum
In 2007, a museum dedicated to the Imperial Fora was opened in the Trajan's Market, which once constituted the northern edge of the Forum of Trajan. The new museum, named "Museo dei Fori Imperiali" (English: Museum of Imperial Fora) by the means of sculptures, videos, architectural pieces, and scale models depicts the history of the four fora and the Temple of Peace. [3]
References
- ^ "News and Announcements | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences". Cals.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
- ^ Tucci, Pier Luigi, ‘Nuove osservazioni sull’architettura del Templum Pacis’, in F. Coarelli (ed.), Divus Vespasianus. Il Bimillenario dei Flavi (Milan 2009), catalogue of the exhibition on the Flavian dynasty (Rome, March 2009 - January 2010) 158-167
- ^ Riccardo Bianchini. "Rome – The Museum of Imperial Fora". Inexhibit. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
External links
- James Grout: Imperial Fora, part of the Encyclopædia Romana
- Satellite image of the area of the Fora
- Rome, The Imperial Fora (2007 onwards) in: the "Fori Imperiali," of the: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali,' Roma (2007) [text only available in Italian.
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088.
Media related to Forums of Rome at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Roman Forum | Landmarks of Rome Imperial fora | Succeeded by Forum of Augustus |
- v
- t
- e
landmarks
Triumphal arches | |
---|---|
Aqueducts | |
Sewers | |
Public baths | |
Religious |
|
Fora | |
Civic | |
Entertainment | |
Palaces and villae | |
Column monuments | |
Commerce | |
Tombs |
|
Bridges |
basilicas
- Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran
- Basilica of Saint Mary Major
- Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
- Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican
- S. Lorenzo fuori le mura
- S. Agnese fuori le mura
- S. Agostino
- S. Anastasia al Palatino
- S. Andrea delle Fratte
- S. Andrea della Valle
- S. Antonio da Padova in Via Merulana
- S. Apollinare alle Terme
- Ss. Apostoli
- S. Balbina
- S. Bartolomeo all'Isola
- Ss. Bonifacio ed Alessio
- S. Camillo de Lellis
- S. Carlo al Corso
- S. Cecilia in Trastevere
- Ss. Celso e Giuliano
- S. Clemente
- Ss. Cosma e Damiano
- S. Crisogono
- S. Croce in Via Flaminia
- S. Croce in Gerusalemme
- S. Eugenio
- S. Eustachio
- S. Francesca Romana
- S. Giovanni a Porta Latina
- S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini
- Ss. Giovanni e Paolo
- S. Lorenzo in Damaso
- S. Lorenzo in Lucina
- S. Maria Ausiliatrice
- S. Marco
- S. Maria degli Angeli
- S. Maria in Montesanto
- S. Maria in Cosmedin
- S. Maria in Domnica
- S. Maria in Aracoeli
- S. Maria del Popolo
- S. Maria sopra Minerva
- S. Maria in Trastevere
- S. Maria in Via
- S. Maria in Via Lata
- S. Maria della Vittoria
- S. Martino ai Monti
- Ss. Nereo e Achilleo
- S. Nicola in Carcere
- S. Pancrazio
- Pantheon
- S. Pietro in Vincoli
- S. Prassede
- S. Pudenziana
- Ss. Quattro Coronati
- S. Saba
- S. Sabina
- Sacro Cuore di Maria
- Sacro Cuore di Cristo Re
- Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio
- S. Sebastiano fuori le mura
- S. Silvestro in Capite
- S. Sisto Vecchio
- S. Sofia a Via Boccea
- S. Stefano Rotondo
- S. Teresa
- S. Vitale
- Arx
- Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi
- Castel Sant'Angelo
- Domus Internationalis Paulus VI
- Palazzo Aragona Gonzaga
- Palazzo Barberini
- Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari
- Palazzo Borghese
- Palazzo della Cancelleria
- Palazzo Chigi
- Palazzo Colonna
- Palazzo della Consulta
- Palazzo Farnese
- Palazzo Fusconi-Pighini
- Palazzo Giustinani
- Lateran Palace
- Palazzo Madama
- Palazzo Malta
- Palazzo di Giustizia
- Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne
- Palazzo Mattei
- Palazzo del Quirinale
- Palazzo Pamphilj
- Palazzo Poli
- Palazzo Riario
- Palazzo Ruspoli
- Palazzo Spada
- Palazzo Valentini
- Palazzo Vidoni-Caffarelli
- Palazzo del Viminale
- Palazzo Wedekind
- Palazzo Zuccari
- Villa Farnesina
- Villa Giulia
- Villa Madama
- Api
- Acqua Felice
- Acqua Paola
- Babuino
- Barcaccia
- Il Facchino
- Marforio
- Moro
- Nasone
- Navicella
- Neptune
- Nettuno
- del Pantheon
- Pianto
- di Piazza d'Aracoeli
- di Piazza Colonna
- di Piazza Farnese
- della Piazza dei Quiriti
- di Piazza Nicosia
- in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere
- di Ponte Sisto
- Quattro Fiumi
- Quattro Fontane
- Tartarughe
- Trevi Fountain
- Tritons
- Tritone
- Altare della Patria (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of Italy)
- Campo Verano
- Capocci Tower
- Column of the Immaculate Conception
- Conti Tower
- Hospital of the Holy Spirit
- Milizie Tower
- Sisto Bridge
- Spanish Steps
and public spaces
- Appian Way
- Campo de' Fiori
- Clivus Capitolinus
- Piazza Colonna
- Piazza d'Aracoeli
- Piazza del Popolo
- Piazza della Minerva
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Piazza Farnese
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza San Pietro
- Piazza di Spagna
- Piazza Venezia
- Via dei Coronari
- Via del Corso
- Via della Conciliazione
- Via dei Fori Imperiali
- Via Sacra
- Via Veneto
and zoos
art galleries
- Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Art Museum
- Capitoline Museums
- Casa di Goethe
- Doria Pamphilj Gallery
- Galleria Borghese
- Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna
- Giorgio de Chirico House Museum
- Galleria Spada
- Jewish Museum of Rome
- Keats–Shelley Memorial House
- MAXXI
- Museo Archeologico Ostiense
- Museo Barracco di Scultura Antica
- Museo Civico di Zoologia
- Museo delle anime del Purgatorio
- Museo delle Mura
- Museo di Roma
- Museo di Roma in Trastevere
- Museo nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia
- Museo Nazionale Etrusco
- Museo Nazionale Romano
- Museo Storico Nazionale dell'Arte Sanitaria
- Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome
- Museum of Roman Civilization
- Museum of the Ara Pacis
- Museum of the Liberation of Rome
- National Museum of Oriental Art
- Palazzo Colonna
- Palazzo delle Esposizioni
- Pigorini National Museum
- Porta San Paolo Railway Museum
- Santa Cecilia Musical Instruments Museum
- Venanzo Crocetti Museum
Seven Hills | |
---|---|
of Rome Capital