The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Built in 141 A.D., it's one of the best preserved Forum monuments.

The Roman Forum is steeped with a depth of history that's hard for me to comprehend. Where I live, something that has attained the grand age of fifty years is considered antique.

By contrast, Rome was founded in 753 B.C., and survived at least four sackings (Gauls in 390 B.C., Celts in 387 B.C., Visigoths in 410 A.D., and Vandals in 455 A.D.) over a thousand years before my country was even "discovered." For centuries this spot served as the political, religious, and commercial center of Western civilization. Rome is not just a city, Rome is the seat of an empire.

I loved the fact that this area is open, accessible--no ticket takers or admission fees. Julius Cesar himself undoubtedly walked these streets, and I was free to follow in Cesar's footsteps, tracing with my fingers the marble contours of another age, connecting physically with the ancient past.

In addition, there were plenty of free guides around, to give voice to the stories these stones could tell.

Evidence from one of the sackings--Forum merchants in their rush to escape dropped coins, which were melted by fire into the marble floor.

The Via Sacra is the largest road running through the Forum, along its path the Empire's conquering heroes paraded into Rome, making sacrifices at the temples in gratitude for their victories.

The three columns in the foreground are the remains of the temple of Castor and Pollux. The three columns in the background are from the temple of the Vestal Virgins.

Next: Decorating with the Dead