Area archeologica di Iulium Carnicum (Foro Romano)

The Roman forum of Iulium Carnicum occupies the valley floor at Zuglio, on the route linking Aquileia with the Norican Alps. Its remains include a temple podium, a civil basilica and porticoes that framed the public square of this Roman city in the Carnic Alps.

Why it matters

The forum was the civic centre of Iulium Carnicum, serving public, commercial and religious life. Its monumental form developed from an earlier complex laid out in the late first century BC. The surviving remains preserve the relationship between the square, temple and basilica.

What to notice

The rectangular forum was paved with limestone and bordered by a portico. At its northern end is the podium of a temple, probably dedicated to more than one deity. The civil basilica closed the southern side; its lower level survives as a cryptoportico with an access stair. Bases of Tuscan-capital columns and statue bases mark the portico and paved square. South of the temple are remains of the earlier settlement, including house foundations and a stone-lined channel.

Context and history

The visible monumental arrangement dates mainly to the first century AD. From the fourth century, the area declined; the basilica’s upper floor collapsed, and the cryptoportico was reused before the site became a burial ground in the early Middle Ages. Organized excavations began in 1807–08, with further campaigns in the 1930s and after the 1976 earthquake. Excavated objects are preserved in the Civico Museo Archeologico Iulium Carnicum in Zuglio.