The forum was, for the roman culture, the aggregation point par excellence: the market, the tribunal, the most important religious buildings were within it. Every epoch had its forum, the Roman Forum was built in the republican age of Rome, but then it was enlarged in the Imperial age.
The zone is quite large and the richness in materials can astonish the visitor who can admire lots of monuments, among which: Titus Arch, built in honour of the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in 70 A. D.; the Basilica of Maxentius, beautiful example of Roman engineering applied to the building of very largely spanned barrel vaults; the Temple of Antonio and Faustina, II century A. D., that emperor Antonio Pio erected in his wife's honour; the Vestal House and Temple, where the Vestals kept the holy fire always alight; the Septimius Severus Arch built in a time of decadence of Roman art; and the Holy Road, that goes to Capitoline Hill, and was run along by the army back from a victorious campaign.