Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

For centuries the Forum was Rome's main square, home to the Senate, the law courts and the oldest temples. Along the Via Sacra you pass the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Saturn, the House of the Vestals and the Curia, which survives almost whole because it was turned into a church.

The Palatine, the hill above, is where legend says Romulus founded the city and where emperors built their palaces, which gave us the word «palace». It is greener and quieter than the Forum, and the Farnese Gardens look out over the whole valley.