I enter near the Colosseum along the Via Sacra. There’s a gate, but no entry fee. As a history major with 4 years of high-school Latin under my belt, I am in awe of being in this place where so many historical events occurred. You can see the photos I shot in my photo album. The heat does not stop me from visiting as many important sites as I can. Up until the 19th century, the Forum was used as a quarry and a pasture, to say nothing of fire, invasions, and general decay, all of which have detracted from its former glory.

First, I see the Arch of Titus erected by the Emperor Domitian in 81 A.D. in honor of his brother Titus’ victory in the war against the Jews. It is very well preserved. Next, I visit the Basilica of Constantine, or Maxentius. Maxentius started it and Constantine finished it and installed a statue of himself in the central nave. I, next, go to Caesar’s temple which is the spot where he was stabbed, and, later, his body burned after Marc Antony’s famous speech. It faces the Main Square, where legend has it Romulus and Remus came down from Palatine Hill and set up the market celebrated as the founding of Rome.

I pay a small fee to climb up Palatine Hill. It’s cooler and shady up here, but not very interesting. I return to the Main Square, and, with my imagination firing on all cylinders, stop in front of the Temple of the Vestal Virgins. This circular temple with its conical roof housed the sacred fire, which was kept active by the Vestals. As long as the fire burned, Rome would stand.

Next, I head for the Curia, the political center of Rome where the Senate met. I can almost hear Cicero delivering his speeches. I also walk by the Rostra, where anyone could speak to any of the citizens of Rome who would listen. The arch of Septimus Severus and the Temple of Saturn grab my attention before I climb the hill to the Campidoglio and walk back to the hotel exhausted and sweaty, but also exhilarated by what I had seen.

You can take a virtual tour at this website.

Here, you'll find temples dedicated to the major gods of the Roman pantheon, meeting halls where political and financial leaders of the day met and discussed policy and the news of the day, as well as the spot where Julius Caesar was cremated by order of his successors Mark Antony and Augustus and numerous monuments were dedicated to the military glory of the emperor's Titus and Septimius Severus.

You'll also find crowds of other tourists here, as well as roving bands of pickpockets, so be wary, and plan to see the area early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Bring plenty of film, and I would recommend getting a guided tour through your travel agent or the concierge of your hotel, because the guidebooks simply don't tell you enough to make you appreciate what you're looking at.

Onto the Basilica of Constantine and Maxientius, which had been the largest building in the Forum and is still an impressive building to this day. It was used as a business centre for the administration of local justice, and its dimensions were 330 x 215 feet, and over 120 feet high. Apparently, the original gilded tiles of this building were used to cover the roof of the old St Peter’s. Standing at the foot of the remaining arches, you can feel what an impressive building this would have been.

A short walk away, and we are standing at the Arch of Titus. The structure still shows good evidence of the fine engraving, depicting the expulsion of the Jews from Jerusalem and the triumphant Titus. There’s a delicate chain stretched across the entrance, and I was very tempted to step over it to get a better photograph from the inside. I’m pleased that I didn’t, as we were later told that the last person to strut through this archway was Hitler. As a mark of respect to Jews worldwide, it has been decreed by the Italian authorities that nobody will ever again pass through the arch.

Whilst studying the Arch, we were offered a free guide to the Forum. I would highly recommend this to you – there’s no catch, and the guides are all very knowledgeable. You will see the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, The Temple of Romulus, Emperor Hadrian’s Temple of Venus and the mighty Temple of Antonius and Faustina (built in 141 AD to celebrate the life of Emperor Pius and his wife). The ruins of the platform, used for the public oratories, will be pointed out to you and, with due reverence, you’ll be able to visit the temple of Julius Caesar, built on the very spot where the body of this mighty emperor was cremated.

Marvel at the magnificent Arch of Septimus Severus, and contemplate what this site was like before it was fully excavated (the road was just below the top of the central arch and, in the Middle Ages, a barber had set up shop in this "shelter").

Ruins can be confusing, but with a good guide, they will come alive again for you.

The story is that Romulus and Remus were abandoned by their mother, a nymph and raised by a shepherd and a she-wolf. They founded Rome in 753 BC on the Palatine Hill. Romulus drew a circle and said that within that circle there was civilization. Remus went outside the circle and Romulus killed him. Our guide told us that archaeologists had indeed found a circle/city border that dated to the right time period, about 730 BC.

We started at the Capitoline Hill end, and passed the temple of Saturn, the open part of the Forum. We saw Julius' Caesar’s tomb, which we had missed before, and which people still leave flowers on, and saw the bronze doors of the temple of Romulus (not the same one as the one who had founded Rome.). These are the oldest bronze doors in situ in the world. We continued on past the Vestal Virgins, to the arch of Constantine and the Coliseum.

I found the Vestal Virgin's home, the Basilica, and the arches to be the most interesting, especially the arch with the story on it about the sack of Jerusalem.