Foro Romano di Aquileia

Aquileia's Roman forum was a public square measuring about 141 by 55 metres, paved in Aurisina limestone and lined by porticoes. The civil basilica stood along its southern side, while a stepped Comitium marked the northern part of the square.

Why it matters

Founded in 181 BCE, Aquileia became one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the early Roman Empire. The forum was its political, administrative and social centre. Its earliest phase dates to the second century BCE, while the layout of the square and its porticoes took shape in the first half of the first century CE. The forum and the remains of its basilica form part of Aquileia's UNESCO archaeological property.

What to notice

The paving consists of slabs of local Aurisina limestone associated with the Julio-Claudian phase, with later repairs using reused material. Columns along the eastern portico were re-erected in the 1930s and completed in brick; their composite capitals date to around 170–180 CE. Reliefs of cupids and eagles once decorated the balustrade above the architrave, alongside blocks bearing heads of Jupiter Ammon and Medusa. A circular stepped structure on the north side marks the Comitium. An inscribed base names Titus Annius Luscus and records his role in the colony's second settlement in 169 BCE.

Context and history

Shops opened onto the forum's east and west porticoes, and public assemblies took place in the square. The civil basilica occupied the southern side. Built in the early Augustan period for legal and commercial activity, it was substantially restructured at the end of the second century CE with two opposing apses. In late antiquity, a defensive wall was built over part of its remains, probably in the sixth century, reusing stone from the earlier structure. Just south of the forum, the Decumanus of Aratria Galla preserves a street paved in the first half of the first century CE and the dedication of its benefactor.