The oldest and most important structures of the ancient city of Rome are located in the forum, including its ancient former royal residency and the surrounding complex of the Vestal virgins. The Old Republic had its formal Comitium there where the senate, as well as Republican government, began. Remains of paving show that sediment eroding from the surrounding hills was already raising the level of the forum in early Republican times. Originally it had been marshy ground which was drained by the Tarquins with the Cloaca Maxima. Its final travertine paving, which can still be seen, dates from the reign of Augustus. The Roman Forum includes a modern statue of Julius Caesar and major monuments, buildings, and ancient ruins such as: The Temples of Castor and Pollux, Saturn, Vesta, Venus and Roma, Caesar, Vespasian and Titus, Romulus and the shrine of Venus Cloacina. The Aemilia, Julia and Maxentius / Constantine Basilicas. The Arches of Septimius Severus, Titus, Tiberius and Augustus.
The Roman Forum also included the Umbilicus Urbi, the designated CENTER of the city from which all distances in Rome and the Roman Empire were measured. Each road coming out of this city center was labeled with a master list of destinations along its route. It is this configuration of the Roman Empire's transportation system that led to the phrase "All roads lead to Rome." Source: Wikipedia |
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