The Forum Romanum was the center of life in imperial Rome, evidenced by the many remains of triumphal arches, temples and basilicas.
Until 509 BC, when Rome became a republic, the city was reigned by an Etruscan dynasty of Tarquin Kings. They built a sewer, the ‘Cloaca Maxima’, to drain water from the marshlands of the valley between the Palatine, Capitol and Esquiline hills to the Tiber river. Ever since, the area was the center of activity in Rome. It was the site of the first forum. Here, triumphal processions took place, elections were held and the Senate assembled.
Today, the forum known as the Forum Romanum can look like a disorderly collection of ruins to the uninitiated, but with some imagination you can see the Roman empire come back to life at this site. Remains of many buildings from different periods are visible; the forum was littered with temples, basilicas and triumphal arches.
