Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

According to ancient tradition, it was on the  Palatine  hill that the first settlement of Rome was made by Romulus in the mid eighth century B.C. Excavations have revealed huts and tombs from the Iron Age and, recently, an ancient fortification. The Palatine was also the  place of important cults as, for example, that of Magna Mater (Cybeles). Between the second and first centuries B.C. it became a residential quarter for the Roman aristocracy. The House of Griffins, famous for its frescoes, was built in this period. The Emperor Augustus made the Palatine his official power-center and initiated a building program which saw the construction of imperial palaces, and the restructuring and enlargement of various existing buildings. The museum is located at the top of the hill  where, among the artworks collected from the hill site, various artefacts of the Iron Age tombs and decorations from the imperial buildings are exhibited. The most stunning of these works of art are the decorative frescoes of the hall of Isis. The Roman Forum was the monumental main square of ancient Rome. Around the center, reached by the Via Sacra, were the most important public and religious buildings in the city. Currently you can visit the remains of the Forum with the ruins of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the Emilian Basilica, the Curia, the Temple of Vesta, the Altar of Cesar, the Arch of Titus, the Arch of  Septimius Severus and more.