Walking tour, part 2

The next part of the tour takes place in the Roman Forum, which you need to buy a ticket to enter, this ticket also gains you entrance to Palatine Hill and the Colosseum. The entrance is on Via dei Fori Imperiali, opposite the Forum of Nerva. The first stop in the Roman Forum is the Temple of “Peace” (Epigrams 1.2), which stood in the middle of the Forum Pacis, north of the basilica Aemilia, probably at the junction of the modern Vie Alessandrina and dei Pozzi. The next stop is the “New Temple” (Epigrams 12.2), also called the Temple of Augustus, which was probably located behind the Basilica Julia in the Roman Forum.

After this, visit the “Temple of Minerva” (Epigrams 4.53). The location of this temple is not known, but there are two potential theories regarding its position: the first is that it was between the Temple of Augustus and the Temple of Castor and Pollux, both of which are located behind the Temple of Peace in the Roman Forum (although it would have been more of a shrine than a temple); the second places it behind the Basilica of Julia, also in the Roman Forum, next to the “temple of Castor and Pollux” (Martial Epigrams 1.70). You can easily visit both  potential locations . The temple of Castor and Pollux is the next stop, of which there are three columns supporting a piece of wall remaining, followed by the Temple of Vesta, referred to by Martial as “ancient Vesta” (Epigrams 1.70), not far from the Temple of Castor and Pollux and part of the precinct of the Vestals. A part of the outside wall of the Temple of Vesta can still be seen today, supported by columns, and a small section of the roof still exists. The “house of the Virgins” (Epigrams 1.70) is also located in the precinct of the Vestals and is our next stop, located east of the Temple of Vesta. The House of the Vestal Virgins still contains some of the original statues, positioned around one of the pools that existed within a courtyard in the House.

Next to the House of the Vestal Virgins is the domus Tiberiana, below this is thought to be the “New Temple” (Epigrams 4.53), more commonly known as the Templum Divi Augusti, though its location is not completely certain, as nothing of it exists today. The next site is “Cybele’s Dome” (Epigrams 1.70) a round temple adorned with frescoes at the top of the Sacra Via; its exact location is not known so it is not possible to visit the dome itself, nor the location that the dome would have occupied during Martial’s time. You can then follow the “Sacred Way” (Epigrams 12.5) leading you down the Palatine Hill, out of the Roman Forum and towards the Colosseum: the Via Sacra still exists today, following the same path that it would have done in Martial’s day. All the stops within the Roman Forum have some form of remains still existing, although some are more complete than others. These remains are also marked by information boards, depicting what scholars believe the sites would have looked like in Ancient Rome and any other information that is available on the sites. [continued...]