The Roman Forum
On Gingerguide's self-guided Zadar audio tour, The Roman Forum is a stop worth about ~30 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type ruins
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Zadar Zadar guide
About The Roman Forum
The open square at the heart of the old town, the marketplace of Roman Iader and the largest forum on the eastern Adriatic: a scatter of paving, column stumps, carved blocks and the Pillar of Shame.
At the centre of the old town lies the Roman Forum, the public square of ancient Iader, laid out from the first century BC and described as the largest forum on the eastern Adriatic coast, about ninety metres long. Its founding is linked, through stone inscriptions, to the age of the emperor Augustus. On three sides it was ringed by porticoes with shops below, and a temple to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva stood on its western edge.
A sixth-century earthquake wrecked the buildings around it, and their stone was carried off to raise houses and churches, including the great rotunda of St Donatus on its northern side. Today the paving, column bases and scattered carved fragments lie open to the sky. One tall Roman column still stands, the so-called Pillar of Shame, to which wrongdoers were once chained in the Middle Ages.
Did you know? Zadar's Roman Forum, begun around the age of the emperor Augustus in the first century BC, is described as the largest forum on the eastern Adriatic coast, about ninety metres long.
How much time do you need at The Roman Forum?
Around ~30 min works well for The Roman Forum — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at The Roman Forum?
Yes — The Roman Forum made the cut as one of 13 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Zadar. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Zadar
Day 1 of the Zadar in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of The Roman Forum
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