TRAJAN’S MARKET

Description

Essentials about Trajan’s Market in brief

Trajan’s Market was, if you will, Rome’s ancient shopping center. It is amazingly well preserved and worth a visit not only for fans of ancient ruins. The complex, built to complement Trajan’s Forum next to it, was a center of business activity in ancient Rome for more than two centuries.

The complex of Trajan’s Market

Trajan’s Market is a collection of warehouses, stores and offices where Romans met to buy goods and do business. It was built between 107 and 110 AD under Emperor Trajan. The construction was an engineering challenge, as it was necessary to remove parts of the adjacent Quirinal Hill. More than 60 million cubic meters of earth and rock were removed to build the concave semicircular structure, which also served as a support for the previously removed hill.

The upper floors of the semicircular brick and concrete market complex – which at one section had up to six floors – were probably used as offices from where the market was managed. Next to these offices was a large warehouse. The lower levels were the center of trading activities. There, merchants sold a variety of goods to the citizens of Rome, including wine, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, and other foodstuffs. These stores were called “tabernae” and were barrel-vaulted cells with small windows and a large opening to the street. In total, there were more than 150 tabernae in the complex of Trajan’s Market. They were often decorated with mosaics depicting the goods offered in the store.

In addition, in the lower part of the market there was the so-called Great Hall, which was 32 meters long and eight meters high. The hall was possibly used for concerts, lectures or classes. The roof of the market was designed as a vaulted concrete arch to allow sunlight to shine through to the stores, while providing protection from the weather for shoppers.

Visiting Trajan’s Market

Trajan’s Market gives visitors a good insight into Roman urban architecture, as they are one of the few remaining elevated structures. Despite many years of neglect and damage from an earthquake in 1349, the markets are still in relatively good condition. Today, visitors can stroll through the main shopping street, Via Biberatica, and walk through one of the corridors of the complex along the rooms that once housed the tabernae. Also located in Trajan’s Market is the Museo dei Fori Imperiali, which illustrates the architecture of the ancient imperial fora.