Trajan's Market

Rome is to ruins as Europe is to churches.  I am certain that all the church pictures were getting a bit tiring.  But its Europe, its filled with them and they are almost always beautiful.  That's how Rome was.  Turning every corner, is something else.  Surprisingly, so many are so incredibly well preserved, that rather than looking at ruins or rocks, you actually can walk hallways, look in a market stall, etc.  You actually can imagine living or working there.  Its a really cool and unique feeling.

Here's what the market is:

"The upper levels of the market were used for offices while the lower part, in front of Trajan's Forum, had shops selling oil, wines, seafood, groceries, vegetables and fruit. Medieval houses built on the top floor face the semicircular segment of the Via Biberatica. The lower part of the market today shows two levels: a ground floor level for shops, with an entry made in travertine, surmounted by an arch. The second level was formed by adjoining shops selling wines and oil. A third level, today visible only as some walls, was discovered at the Via Biberatica and was probably used for grocers' shops. On the lower part there are also two large halls, probably used for auditions or concerts. A shop housed in the Market is known as a taberna."

I am standing in Trajan's Market and behind me is the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

This picture is the best for looking at after reading the description of the market layout above.  You can really see where all the stalls were and how the day to day business was conducted!