The Roman Forum began in a reclaimed valley and grew into the civic center of an expanding city. Its temples, basilicas, arches, and later churches mark changing political and religious uses, leaving a landscape where different periods remain side by side.
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The Forum’s uneven ground can make it hard to picture as a single place, but that is exactly what it became: Rome’s center of public life for more than a millennium. The valley was reclaimed from swamp near the end of the seventh century BCE.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- The Forum valley was reclaimed near the end of the seventh century BCE.
- It served as a center of public life for more than a millennium.
- Some ancient structures were later converted into churches.
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