ESPAÑOL

If the Colosseum is one of the great architectural works of humanity that has reached our days, the Forum, which once was the zero kilometer of one of the greatest empires in history, is today little more than a pile of columns and half-ruined walls. Both are in the UNESCO heritage list since 1980.

HOW TO GET THERE

The Forum is immediately west of the Coliseum.

• You can walk there from the main points of interest of the city center (see the post ITINERARY: THE BEST OF ROME).
• The nearest metro station is Colosseo, on line B blue.
• Nearby buses: 60, 75, 85, 87, 117, 175, 186, 271, 571, 810, 850 and C3.
• Tram 3.

PALATINE

It is a hill located between the Coliseum, the Forum and the Circus Maximus. In this place it is assumed that Romulus founded the city. There are a lot of ruins, mainly of distinguished Roman villas (among them several emperors’) and medieval buildings. There is also the small Palatine Museum, with some exhibits (not to be confused with the Capitoline Museums).

FORUM

The heart of the Roman Empire has suffered greatly over time. It is a plain of ruined buildings, which it has been preserved like that instead of being rebuilt. Such is the deterioration that it is difficult to imagine that you are in what one day should have been the most important place in the world. Some are barely more than loose columns surrounded by weeds, while others are in very good condition.

It is certainly a nice walk between ruins and garden areas, but due to the degree of destruction of many buildings I consider this is not an imperative visit, unless you are passionate about ancient architecture.

STATUE OF JULIUS CAESAR

Near the Forum, this is a very photographed statue because of the person represented.

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