These Ruins Are Legendary Testimonies of the Golden Age
Augustus Square is one of the forums from the Roman Empire era, and it is the second forum built in this location chronologically. It is arranged orthogonally to the earlier Caesar's Forum. Archaeological excavations have attempted to restore its original layout, revealing a forum with a portico and a temple dedicated to Mars Ultor, completed in 2 BC, located on the short side and elevated on a high podium with a porch. 🏛️✨ At the end of the temple's interior space, there is a unique room that houses a massive statue of the emperor. Much like Caesar's Forum, the construction of this complex served propaganda purposes, with all its decorations celebrating Emperor Augustus's ushering in of a new golden age. 🎉👑 Suetonius provided two descriptions regarding this: “The construction of the new forum was due to the increase in population and the growing number of judicial cases. The existing two forums (the Republic Forum and Caesar's Forum) were no longer sufficient, necessitating a third one. For this reason, Emperor Augustus hurriedly held the inauguration ceremony while the Temple of Mars was still unfinished and decided that judges would determine by lot which cases should be publicly tried there.” 🏛️⚖️ “The emperor built a forum smaller than he wished because he did not want to resort to force to requisition the properties of nearby owners.” #CulturalLandmark #WorldHeritageCity #TravelTheWorld #ArtAndArchitecture #Italy #Rome #RomanEmpire #Augustus #ArchitecturalPhotography