The Imperial Fora: Complete Guide to Rome's Five Forums

What Are the Imperial Fora

The Imperial Fora are a succession of five monumental squares built by Roman emperors between the first century BC and the second century AD, immediately adjacent to the Roman Forum toward the north-east. Each forum was designed as a self-contained urban unit — square, porticoes, dedicatory temple — but together they form one of the most elaborate public complexes of the ancient world.

The term "Imperial Fora" is a modern designation: in antiquity each forum was called by its founder's name (Forum Caesaris, Forum Augusti, etc.). The complex as a whole extended over approximately 4 hectares, with a main axis running from south-west to north-east.

Chronological Sequence

Forum	Emperor	Year Inaugurated
Forum Caesaris	Julius Caesar	46 BC
Forum Augusti	Augustus	2 BC
Templum Pacis	Vespasian	75 AD
Forum Nervae (Transitorium)	Nerva	97 AD
Forum Traiani	Trajan	112 AD

Forum Caesaris: The First Model

The Forum of Caesar (46 BC) was the prototype for all that followed: an elongated rectangular square (160 × 75 m) enclosed on three sides by porticoes and dominated by a head temple — the Temple of Venus Genetrix. Caesar chose his own mythical ancestress as dedicatory deity, establishing the principle that the Imperial Fora were spaces of personal glorification dressed as gifts to the city.

Surviving today are three columns of the Temple of Venus Genetrix, the podium, and remains of the porticoes, partly excavated beneath Via dei Fori Imperiali.

Forum Augusti: The Manifesto

The Forum of Augustus (2 BC) brought the Caesarian model to its complete expression. Larger than its predecessor (125 × 118 m), with two large semicircular exedrae on the sides, the Forum of Augustus was designed as a manifesto of Augustan legitimacy. The Temple of Mars Ultor — dedicated to "Mars the Avenger" of Caesar's murderers — was the symbolic centrepiece. The galleries of summi viri in the porticoes narrated Roman history as a chain culminating in Augustus.

The murus Augustei, the 30-metre tufa wall on the north side, separated the forum from the popular Subura quarter and served as a firebreak — a detail revealing Augustus's awareness of urban density and its risks.

Surviving are three Corinthian columns of the Temple of Mars, the northern wall, and traces of the exedra system.

Templum Pacis: The Fourth Forum

The Templum Pacis (75 AD) was built by Vespasian after the victory in the Jewish War (66–70 AD) and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is often overlooked in lists of the Imperial Fora, but it was effectively the fourth monumental pole of the complex.

The Spoils of Jerusalem

The Templum Pacis housed the treasures of the Jerusalem Temple: the seven-branched Menorah, the Table of Showbread, the sacred trumpets. These objects were the physical proof of Rome's victory over Judaism — a propaganda of conquest that Titus and Vespasian actively cultivated. The Jerusalem Menorah — visible also on the Arch of Titus — became the most powerful icon of this narrative.

The Templum Pacis was also, remarkably, one of Rome's richest libraries and housed an extraordinary collection of Greek artworks.

Current State

The Templum Pacis is the least visible of the imperial fora: its remains lie partly beneath the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian (4th century AD), which incorporated one of the complex's walls. The Forma Urbis Severiana — the great marble map of Rome measuring 18 × 13 metres — was displayed on the wall of a corridor of the Templum Pacis. Fragments survive in the Capitoline Museums.

Forum Nervae (Transitorium): The Monumental Corridor

The Forum of Nerva (97 AD) — also called the Forum Transitorium because it functioned as a passageway between the Roman Forum and the Templum Pacis — is the smallest of the five imperial fora and the least visited. It measures approximately 120 × 45 metres: narrower than the others because it had to fit into a space already occupied by the Argiletum, the street of booksellers' shops.

The Colonnade Columns

The most celebrated surviving element of the Forum of Nerva is the so-called colonnacce — two Corinthian columns with a fragment of entablature rising above the road level of Via dei Fori Imperiali. They are all that remains of the lateral porticoes. The entablature frieze shows female figures engaged in weaving — a theme connected to Minerva, the dedicatory deity of the head temple.

Forum Traiani: The Culmination

The Forum of Trajan (112 AD) was the largest and most elaborate of all — and the most expensive. Designed by the Syrian architect Apollodorus of Damascus, it covered an area of approximately 300 × 185 metres, nearly double the Forum of Augustus. To build it, it was necessary to cut away the spur of the Quirinal Hill that joined the Capitoline: Trajan's Column records with its 38 metres of height the level of ground before the excavation — though this is almost certainly a modern interpretation; the column was erected as a mausoleum for Trajan.

Components of the Trajanic Forum

The Basilica Ulpia: the great civic basilica (170 × 60 m) with five naves was the largest building in Rome after the Circus Maximus. It was the functional heart of the forum — law courts, archives, commercial transactions.

The Twin Libraries: flanking the basilica rose two twin libraries (one Latin, one Greek) housing the Empire's principal literary and legal archives.

Trajan's Column: 30 metres tall (35 with the base), Trajan's Column tells in 155 scenes and approximately 2,500 figures the story of the two Dacian wars (101–102 and 105–106 AD). The spiral frieze runs for approximately 190 metres: it is the longest and most detailed surviving account of a Roman military campaign. Originally an eagle in gold stood at the top; replaced by a statue of Trajan in the late Renaissance, it was then substituted with St Peter in 1588 on the orders of Sixtus V.

Trajan's Market: the six-level commercial complex carved into the Quirinal hillside is the world's oldest shopping centre. It houses today the Museum of the Imperial Fora.

The Temple of the Divine Trajan: built by Hadrian after Trajan's death (117 AD), the temple was the final component of the complex. Little survives.

Via dei Fori Imperiali: Recent History

Mussolini and the Demolition

Until 1930, the site of the Imperial Fora was covered by a dense medieval and Renaissance urban fabric. The Fascist regime, in the context of its policy of "liberating" ancient Roman monuments for propaganda purposes, demolished the neighbourhood and in 1932 opened the Via dell'Impero (today Via dei Fori Imperiali) — a 900-metre straight road from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum cutting through the complex from north-west to south-east.

The operation was devastating for archaeology: it demolished approximately 5,000 buildings and permanently buried significant portions of the fora beneath the roadway. At the same time, for the first time since antiquity, Romans could see the unified complex of the fora from a single perspective.

Contemporary Debates

The question of whether to remove Via dei Fori Imperiali to restore full archaeological access to the complex remains open today. Proposals have been advanced more than once but never realised for reasons of traffic, cost, and technical complexity.

The Museum of the Imperial Fora

The Museum of the Imperial Fora, located inside Trajan's Market, is the richest point of access for understanding the complex. The museum displays:

Sculptural and architectural fragments from the five fora
Scale reconstructive models
3D reconstructions accessible through interactive stations
The section dedicated to the Forma Urbis (the marble map of Rome)

Trajan's Market is accessible independently from the Colosseum–Forum–Palatine ticket: the ticket includes museum entry and the terrace view over the complex.

How to Visit the Imperial Fora

External Access (Free)

The entire Via dei Fori Imperiali is an open walkway. From the roadside one can observe:

The three columns of the Temple of Venus Genetrix (Forum of Caesar)
The colonnacce of the Forum of Nerva
The three columns of the Temple of Mars Ultor (Forum of Augustus)
Trajan's Column (from Via dei Fori Imperiali)

Internal Access

Forums of Caesar and Augustus: included in the combined Colosseum–Forum–Palatine ticket (€18).

Forum of Trajan / Trajan's Market: separate ticket or combined with the Museum of the Imperial Fora. Check current prices at sovraintendenzaroma.it.

Trajan's Column: visible from outside, not accessible inside.

Visit the Imperial Fora with a Private Driver

The Imperial Fora lie at the heart of Rome, along Via dei Fori Imperiali, a short distance from the Colosseum.

Visit the Imperial Fora with a private driver: discover the greatest monumental square system of the ancient world. Service from €49. → Book your driver at myromedriver.com

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Imperial Fora are there? Five: the Forum of Caesar (46 BC), the Forum of Augustus (2 BC), the Templum Pacis of Vespasian (75 AD), the Forum of Nerva (97 AD), and the Forum of Trajan (112 AD). The last is the largest and best preserved.

How do you visit the Forum of Trajan? The Forum of Trajan is visited through Trajan's Market — the six-level commercial complex that also houses the Museum of the Imperial Fora. The entry ticket is separate from the Colosseum–Forum–Palatine ticket.

What is the Museum of the Imperial Fora? The Museum of the Imperial Fora is located inside Trajan's Market and offers the most complete understanding of the complex through original fragments, scale models, and 3D reconstructions. It is one of Rome's most innovative museum spaces.

Why was Via dei Fori Imperiali built by Mussolini? The Via dell'Impero (today Via dei Fori Imperiali) was opened in 1932 by the Fascist regime to create a symbolic straight road between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum. The operation involved the demolition of an entire medieval neighbourhood and the partial burial of archaeological remains.

What did the Templum Pacis contain? Vespasian's Templum Pacis (75 AD) housed the treasures of the Jerusalem Temple, including the seven-branched Menorah and the Table of Showbread, brought to Rome after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

Article no. 56 — TIER S — MON-03 Roman Forum + Palatine Type: HISTORY Words: ~2,400