Walking tour, part 1

The most logical place to start is at the train station known as Roma Termini. To the east of the Roma Termini is an area known as the “Subura” (Epigrams 5.22, 10.20, 12.2, 12.18). The Subura in Martial’s time was the valley between the southern end of the Viminal and the western end of the Esquiline Hill, which was connected with the Roman Forum by the Argiletum, and continued eastward between the Oppius and the Cispius by the Clivus Suburanus, ending at the Porta Esquilina. This district is now traversed by the Via Cavour and the Via dello Statuto. In Martial’s time the Subura would have been a run down area; it has since been transformed and is currently a high end shopping district, known as the Rione I Monti. There are little to no Roman remains surviving of the original Subura, so the tour does not have a strict path to follow, nor set sites to visit within the Subura.

After walking through the Subura, head towards the Roman Forum. Martial advises taking the “Argiletum” (Epigrams 1.117), a street that, in his day, led directly from the Subura to the Forum. It entered the Forum by the Basilica Aemelia. The Argiletum no longer exists, but the street that is closest to following the same route is the Via Cavour, which joins the Via dei Fori Imperiali by the Forum of Nerva. “Pallas’ Forum” (Epigrams 1.2), more commonly called the Forum of Nerva, is located where the Via Cavour joins the Via dei Fori Imperiali, opposite the “Temple of Peace” (Epigrams 1.2) in the Roman Forum. The Forum of Nerva occupied the space between the Forum of Augustus on the north-west and the Forum Pacis on the south-east. Not much of the Forum of Nerva remains today: there are the remnants of some walls, as well as a pair of quite well preserved columns in the Forum, which can be seen from the street.

The “Temple of Mars the Avenger” (Epigrams 7.51) is the next stop on the tour, and is in the Forum of Augustus, which is situated next to the Forum of Nerva on the Via dei Fori Imperiali. Much of the Forum of Augustus is buried; the rest can be seen from the street. The Temple of Mars is in the unburied section, and  some remains can still be seen, such as steps leading up to a raised platform, as well as the bases of some columns. Martial also mentions the “Forum of Caesar” (Epigrams 1.117), also known as the forum Iulium, which is also on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, past the Forum of Nerva and the Forum of Augustus. The Forum of Caesar is considered the first of the imperial Fora. There are quite a few remains, the most prominent being columns and pillars marking out the locations of the various temples which existed within the Forum itself. [continued...]

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