The Roman Forum is an area of the city of Rome around which the ancient city developed.It was for centuries the center of Roman public life. It was the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches. It was also the heart of commerce.
Historians estimate that the rise of public events in the Roman Forum first took place around 500 B.C., when the Roman Republic started. The Forum gradually developed, progressed and expanded over many centuries. Statues, arches, basilicas and other buildings were constructed to accommodate the gatherings.
Today the Roman Forum is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and excavations. It has 4.5 million sightseers each year.
During the Middle Ages, though the memory of the Forum Romanum persisted, its monuments were for the most part buried under debris, and its location was designated the “Campo Vaccino” or “cattle field.”
Excavation by Carlo Fea, who began clearing the debris from the Arch of Septimius Severus in 1803, and archaeologists under the Napoleonic regime marked the beginning of clearing the Forum, which was only fully excavated in the early 20th century.
A remaining nave of a Roman basilica that once housed a colossal statue of Emperor Constantine.
The ruins of a Roman plaza built by Julius Caesar in 46 BC
The massive Basilica Julia was started by Julius Caesar but left unfinished after his assassination.
The vestals were chosen from age 6 to 10. They were vestals for 30 years, during which time they were expected to be chaste. They tended the sacred fire in the shrine of Vesta, and performed other rites such as caring for the sacred objects in the shrine and inner sanctuary, and preparing ritual food. There were four to six vestals generally.
Vestal virgins were chosen from highborn families and were granted privileges that would have been unimaginable for other women in Ancient Rome. They could own property, vote, and write a will. They had the best seats at public games, and they even had the power to free condemned prisoners and slaves. A condemned man on his way to his execution only had to catch a glimpse of a Vestal Virgin to be freed.
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