The Forum of Augustus and Via dei Fori Imperiali

From the railing of Via dei Fori Imperiali you can see, at your feet, what remains of the Forum of Augustus. Octavian vowed to build it at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, when he swore to avenge the murder of his adoptive father, Julius Caesar. He kept his word: the Temple of Mars Ultor, «the Avenger», dominated the square and was inaugurated in 2 BC.

1A wall against fire, and against the neighbours

Behind the temple rises a wall of stone blocks about 30 metres high. It separated the forum from the Subura, a crowded working-class district where fires were frequent. Notice that the enclosure is not perfectly symmetrical: according to Suetonius, Augustus did not dare to force the owners of the neighbouring houses to sell, so the forum ended up narrower than planned.

The side porticoes held statues of Rome's great men and of the ancestors of the Julian family, starting with Aeneas and Romulus. It was propaganda in stone: the whole history of Rome led to Augustus.

2An avenue that split history in two

The street you are standing on is far more recent. Mussolini opened it in 1932 as Via dell'Impero, to link the Colosseum with Piazza Venezia, where he had his office. To build it, the Alessandrino district was demolished and much of the forums was covered over again. Across the avenue you can see the Forum of Caesar and, further along, Trajan's Markets, climbing the hillside in tiers.

3What to look for

• The three Corinthian columns still standing from the Temple of Mars Ultor.
• The great stone wall closing off the back, with its irregular line.
• The House of the Knights of Rhodes, with its loggia, built on top of the ruins.