Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, Rome


	Roman Forum and Palatine Hill All roads led to Rome, to this very spot where the ancient empire began. Although called the Forum, the complex was made up of several fori, containing shops, temples, and various public institutions. Much of the Forum today is in ruins, except for the solidly built Curia, where the Roman Senate debated, but some prominent landmarks still remain, including ten marble columns of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the Arch of Titus, and Arch of Septimius Severus, which the emperor built in AD 203. The popular Temple of the Vestal Virgins includes, sadly, only headless statues and a pedestal. Midway on the south side of the Forum, near Caligula's palace, you ascend the Palatine Hill by way of the fountains, gardens, and grottoes of the fortunate Farnese family, which had its 16th-century villa here. Even in the 8th century BC, the Romans lived here, in wooden huts. So too did Livia, Augustus's wife, whose villa and frescoes are worth a visit. The views from the top of the Palatine Hill are fabulous, across to the Colosseum and, in the rear, over the Circus Maximus, which once held 300,000 spectators at its chariot races. Address: Via dei Fori Imperiali, near the piazza Ven Rome Italy Telephone: +39 (6) 678-0782