Forum of Trajan, Rome Foro di Traiano

The Forum of the Emperor Trajan (A.D. 98-117), the last, largest and best preserved on the Imperial fora, comprised a considerable complex of buildings, including a temple and basilica as well as three monuments erected in honor of the Emperor himself - a triumphal arch, an equestrian statue and a victory column. The markets extended northeast up the Quirinal hill.

Picture - Trajan's Market at night in Rome.

Picture - Basilica Ulpia and Trajan Column at the Foro Traiano in Rome.

Picture - The Santa di Loreto Church with the Trajan's Column in Rome.

Picture - The 13th century so-called Markets of Trajan in Rome.

View a slideshow of Forum of Trajan Pictures

Forum of Trajan Map

Important Information:

Address: Via dei Fori Imperiali, I-00186 Rome, Italy

Opening hours: 9am-1pm; Sun: 9am-12:30pm; Closed: Mon

Transit: Metro: Colosseo (line B).

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The forum, designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, was begun in A.D. 107 and completed in 143. During the Middle Ages new buildings were erected in the area of the forum by the Colonna and Caetani families, among them the Torre delle Milizie still to be seen in Via Quattro Novembre, and later the twin churches of Santa Maria di Loreto and the Santissimo Nome di Maria were also built here. In the first half of the present century a wide motor road and a number of smaller streets were laid out in the area. Excavations carried out since 1928 have revealed the layout of the forum. A triumphal arch erected in A.D. 116 gave access to an open rectangular area, in the center of which stood an equestrian statue of the Emperor. At the far end was the Basilica Ulpia, a hall measuring 130x125m/430x410ft. In the present state of the site it is difficult to image a building of these dimensions; and indeed it was no easy matter at the time it was built to find space for it in this crowded part of central Rome. Built on to the rear of the basilica were two libraries, one for Latin and the other for Greek literature, and between the two reared up Trajan's victory column. Beyond this, at the end of the forum (between the two churches dedicated to the Virgin), was a temple of deified Trajan. Only Trajan's column is left to represent this whole complex, much admired in ancient times, dedicated to honoring the Emperor under whom the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent.

Forum of Trajan Highlights

Trajans Column

This victory column which has undergone costly cleaning and renovation, is a magnificent monument to Roman Imperial power and the skill of Roman sculptors. The column 38m/125ft high and constructed of marble from the Greek island of Paros, is covered with a spiral frieze 200m/655ft long, with over 2,500 figures depicting Trajan's wars with the Dacians in 101-102 and 105-106. This frieze, with its fighting soldiers, prancing horses and the whole panoply of Roman military equipment, is worth studying in detail - though this is more difficult for the modern visitor than for the ancients, who could examine the reliefs from the windows of the two libraries. A spiral staircase of 185 steps runs up inside the column, lit by 43 narrow slits in the wall of the column. In the base of the column was a golden urn containing the Emperor's ashes, and on its summit was a golden statue of Trajan. The statue was lost during the Middle Ages and in 1588 Pope Sixtus V replaced it with a figure of the Apostle Peter with his key.

Trajans Markets

To the north of Trajan's Forum was a semicircular range of market halls in three tiers, the ruins of which, with their red-brick walls and high vaulted roofs, form an impressive termination to the group of Imperial fora, rising up the slopes of the Quirinal hill to Via Quattro Novembre. The difference in level was skillfully exploited by the architect, Apollodorus of Damascus (early second century). In establishing his markets Trajan was concerned to ease the financial burdens of the population by maintaining prices at a reasonable level and to reduce social tensions by the distribution of Imperial subsidies.