Roman Forum Residences, Rome

Roman Forum Residences, Rome (Italy)

The Roman Forum also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space originally a marketplace as the Forum Magnum or simply the Forum. For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome the site of triumphal processions and elections the venue for public speeches criminal trials and gladiatorial matches and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the citys great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting 4.5 million or more sightseers yearly. Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. The Roman Kingdoms earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge.