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The Imperial Fora

Caesar's Forum and the Best Free Ruins in Rome

Forum of Caesar • Bronze Emperors • Floodlit at Night

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🏛️ Your Perfect Roman Experience

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Free from the Street

The railings are open day and night

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Via dei Fori Imperiali

Between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum

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30-60 Minutes

A perfect evening stroll

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Metro: Colosseo (Line B)

Or any bus down the boulevard

🧭 Why Visit

The Roman Forum has a gate and a ticket; the Imperial Fora just lie there beside the road, free, on both sides of Via dei Fori Imperiali. Caesar, Augustus, Nerva, and Trajan each built a forum here when the old one ran out of room. Walk the railings at dusk and you get floodlit columns, bronze emperors, and almost no crowd.

🏛️ A Little History

Julius Caesar dedicated his forum in 46 BC, paying for the land with the spoils of Gaul, and set a temple to Venus Genetrix, his claimed ancestress, at the head of it. Augustus, Nerva, and Trajan followed until the fora formed one marble spine through the city center. In 1932 Mussolini drove Via dei Fori Imperiali straight across them; the excavations along both sides of the road are what the street spared.

💡 Did You Know?

The bronze Caesar by the roadside is a 1932 copy of the marble statue in Palazzo Senatorio, and its pedestal still carries the Fascist-era dedication to the perpetual dictator. The three columns of Venus Genetrix went back up in the same excavation campaign that cleared the forum floor.

THE FREE VIEW

Along the Railings

Caesar and the emperors built their fora side by side; today the railings of Via dei Fori Imperiali look straight down into them, free, day and night.

Three columns of the Temple of Venus Genetrix in the Forum of Caesar
Venus GenetrixThree columns of the Temple of Venus Genetrix in the Forum of Caesar. Caesar vowed the temple before Pharsalus and dedicated it, with the forum, in 46 BC.
Temple of Venus Genetrix columns with the dome of Santi Luca e Martina behind
Columns and DomeThe same columns against the dome of Santi Luca e Martina. Caesar claimed Venus as his ancestress; the family tree was the point.
Re-erected columns of the Temple of Peace with the Curia and Vittoriano behind
The Temple of PeaceOne railing over, the re-erected granite columns of Vespasian's Temple of Peace, with the Curia and the Vittoriano beyond.
Bronze statue of Julius Caesar on Via dei Fori Imperiali
Caesar in BronzeThe bronze Caesar on Via dei Fori Imperiali, a 1932 copy of the marble in Palazzo Senatorio. He stands opposite the forum he paid for with the spoils of Gaul.
FLOODLIT

After Dark

The floodlights come up at dusk and the fora become the best evening walk in the city.

Floodlit columns of the Temple of Venus Genetrix at blue hour
Blue HourBlue hour. The floodlights come up on the columns of Venus Genetrix while the Vittoriano glows at the end of the street.
Sunset sky over floodlit columns of the imperial fora
December SunsetA December sunset behind the Capitoline, the columns already lit from below.
Curia Julia and Santi Luca e Martina floodlit at dusk
Last LightThe Curia and Santi Luca e Martina hold the last of the light. This is the walk to take after dinner.

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Visiting Tips

  • Walk it at dusk when the floodlights come on and the tour groups head to dinner
  • Look for the bronze emperors along the roadside; each stands beside his own forum
  • Combine with the Colosseum: the boulevard runs from Piazza Venezia to the arena in one straight walk
  • For Trajan's Markets and the Museum of the Imperial Fora, enter from Via Quattro Novembre

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the Imperial Fora the same as the Roman Forum?
No. The Roman Forum is the older republican center, inside the ticketed archaeological area. The Imperial Fora are the newer fora that Caesar and the emperors built alongside it, and most of them you view free from the street.
Do I need a ticket?
Not to see them from Via dei Fori Imperiali. Trajan's Markets and the Museum of the Imperial Fora are a separate ticket, and parts of the fora open for guided visits at times.
Are they lit at night?
Yes, the ruins are floodlit after dark year round. Blue hour, just after sunset, is the best moment for photos.
Is the street ever closed to traffic?
Much of it is limited to buses and taxis, and on Sundays and holidays it often goes fully pedestrian, which makes the quietest visit of the week.

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