ROMAN FORUM, Introduction

Hi, I'm Alyson, your personal guide. Together with MyWoWo, I'd like to welcome you to one of the wonders of the world.

Today I'll accompany you through the Roman Forum, one of the most suggestive places in Rome!

Let me start telling you about the history of the Roman Forum as you walk through the grandiose ruins of the Eternal City, among Capitoline Hill, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. First of all, you should know that before Rome was founded, this area was a marshy valley that was used as burial grounds for the populations living on the peaks of the nearby hills. Towards the end of 700 BC, the clearing was leveled and paved in dirt: it was being transformed into a "forum", the Latin word for "square". This square connected several small villages, thus forming a single inhabited center. It was the era of the "seven kings of Rome" and the Etruscan Tarquini dynasty was responsible for digging the Cloaca Massima, one of the world's earliest sewage systems, which helped drain and improve the area so that it could be inhabited. Meanwhile, the Forum took on two distinct roles: the center of public administration and a market area....