It was great to be part of a Road Scholar tour, but (by necessity) there were things I wanted to see that weren't included. That is why I took a second week on my own. I went to the Museo dei Foro Imperiali, which I had passed many times because it was close to the hotel. I can see why Road Scholars didn't include it. The museum itself is not that impressive. There are lots of fragments of statues, columns, etc. and reconstructed statues. The picture above is the upper interior with original arches. It was part of Trajan's Forum. There is a lot of natural light. The lower floor has display rooms. While I was there, there was a special exhibit titled "Mortali/Immortali." It was a little confusing because it was about ancient Chinese treasures...which were not what I had come to see.
The truly spectacular thing is being able to walk out above Trajan's Market and Forum and take in some truly spectacular views....plus, it was a beautiful day. Here's an example:
The Victor Emmanual Monument dominates the scene. See that statue of a rider on a horse on the right? I read that statue is so large that the moustache of the rider is five feet long. But I was actually more interested in the remains of the Trajan's Market stalls in the foreground. Trajan was Emporer 98-117 AD. In addition to the Market, there was a huge Forum. I have to admit that I haven't taken the time to make distinctions of the various Fora---the Roman Forum, Caesar's Forum, and ones created by Augustus, Vespasian, Nerva, and this one by Trajan.
The above view interested me because it shows some of the excavation work going on now and also showcases some of the distinctive Italian pines.
In the view below, Trajan's Column is shown. It was constructed during Trajan's reign and shows scenes of various military victories in a bas relief spiral going to the top. It had a statue of Trajan at one time, but now the statue at the top is St. Peter.
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