Foro Di Nerva

We left Sorrento on Thursday, April 23rd and took the train to Naples. In Naples we grabbed another train to Rome. Instead of taking the high speed train as we did coming down to Sorrento we decided to take the cheaper slow train. It took twice as long but it was interesting to compare the difference between the two. The slower train was more of a commuter train and it stopped at every stop along the way. Also, there were beggars on this train and it wasn’t as comfortable a ride. However, we were able to see more of the countryside.

Once in Rome we decided to walk to the hotel instead of taking a cab. Again, this took us longer but we were able to see much more of the area. While we passed some churches and other sites, along the way, it wasn’t until we came to this spot (photos above) that we saw our first Roman ruins (well, my first as Chris and Karen had been to Rome before). Once again it amazed me that the ruins are right there in the heart of the city.

The above photos are from Foro Di Nerva. “The fourth of the imperial fora, the Forum of Nerva had been planned by Domitian but was dedicated by Nerva in AD 97, after the death of damnatio memoriae of Domitian. Cramped between the Forums of Julius and Augustus and the Temple of Peace, it enclosed a portion of the Argiletum, the thoroughfare that joined the Forum Romanum and the Subura district. For this reason, the Forum of Nerva also was known as the Forum Transitorium. The lateral walls of the forum were lined with paired columns broken by a number of doors to provide access to the fora on either side.”

Reference: “Domitian, the Argiletum and the Temple of Peace” (1982) by James C. Anderson, Jr., American Journal of Archaeology, 86(1), 101-100.