Section on the Forum of Augustus

Inaugurated in the 2 BC, the Forum of Augustus consists of a rectangular square paved with white marble slabs, dominated, at its lower end, by the temple dedicated to Mars Ultor, also built in white marble from the quarry in Luni today known as Carrara. The temple was built against a high wall built of blocks of tufa stone that separated the forum from the rowdy Subura neighborhood.

Ricomposizione di una partitura dell'ordine attico dei portici del Foro di Augusto
Ricomposizione di una partitura dell'ordine attico dei portici del Foro di Augusto

The square was flanked on both sides by long deep porticoes in which the column shafts were made of ancient yellow marble. The attic above the columns is embellished with decorative Caryatids, whose elegant hairstyles support a headband carved from the same block, above which is a Doric capital with echinus, embellished with a typical Ionic kyma. The Caryatids appear to be holding up the coping with a baccellatura motif. In the recesses between the Caryatids, quadrangular panels feature round shields bearing an assortment of motifs set in convex frames whilst at the centre, there are heads of Jupiter each with different features.
 There are several rooms dedicated to the Forum of August inside the Museum of the Imperial Fora, each displaying various reconstructions of the architectural elements from the Temple of Mars Ultor. These include the orders from both the porticoes and the exedra, and in fact one of the most significant of these is a partition from the attic above the Forum's porticoes which were located the most prestigious area in Trajan's Market: the Great Hall.

The reconstruction of the attic from one of the porticoes in the Forum of Augustus was achieved by piecing together several original pieces in Luna marble integrated with resin moulds and other pieces made of limestone:
- Piece of the roof coping (the shaped upper end or sima, with rainwater spout shaped like a lion's head) FA 1118
- Various sections of the roof coping
 FA 909, FA 917, FA 918, FA 914
- Head of Jupiter Hammon
FA 2513
- Piece of the frame from a shield (clipeus)
FA 1117
- Section of frame surrounding a panel (comprising three pieces that fit together)
FA 4385 - 4328 - 4302
- Resin mould of a Caryatid taken from the original held in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence in the Villa Corsini (13711)

Il Foro di Augusto