The Forum at Pompeii: What to See and How to Read It

The Forum was the centre of public life in Pompeii: a paved rectangle about 143 metres by 38 metres where government, religion and commerce happened in the same space. Nearly every important civic building in the city opened onto it. If you understand the Forum's layout, the rest of Pompeii becomes much easier to read.

The Forum at Pompeii: Quick Orientation

• What it is: the civic, religious and commercial heart of the Roman city
• Size: roughly 143 m long × 38 m wide, porticoed on three sides
• Nearest entrance: Porta Marina, a short uphill walk away
• Don't miss: Temple of Jupiter, Basilica, Macellum, Building of Eumachia
• The view: looking north along the square frames Mount Vesuvius behind the Temple of Jupiter
• Allow: 30–45 minutes to walk it properly

Why the Forum matters

Roman cities were organised around a forum, and Pompeii's is one of the most completely preserved anywhere. It began as an open clay space and was progressively monumentalised: between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC it gained its surrounding porticoes and a tuff-slab pavement, later replaced with travertine in the Imperial era.

By AD 79 it was closed to wheeled traffic. Bollards at the entry points kept carts out, which is why the paving here lacks the deep wheel ruts visible in Pompeii's ordinary streets. That single detail tells you this was a pedestrian civic space, not a thoroughfare.

The Forum was also stripped of much of its decoration in antiquity — survivors and salvagers worked the site after the eruption. What you see is largely structure rather than finish, which is why the square can feel bare compared with the painted houses elsewhere on the site.

The buildings around the square

Building	Side	Function	Approximate size
Temple of Jupiter	North	Chief temple, Capitoline Triad	Podium ~37 × 17 m
Basilica	West (south end)	Law court and business exchange	~64 × 24 m
Sanctuary of Apollo	West	Pompeii's oldest major cult site	—
Macellum	North-east	Covered food market, fish and meat	~37 × 27 m
Building of Eumachia	East	Guild headquarters, likely the fullers	—
Comitium	South-east	Voting and elections	—
Municipal offices	South	City administration	—

Temple of Jupiter

At the northern end, raised on a high podium and approached by a frontal staircase in the Italic manner. It was dedicated to the Capitoline Triad — Jupiter, Juno and Minerva — and was the religious anchor of the civic square. It was still under repair from the earthquake of AD 62 when the eruption came.

This is where the famous photograph is taken: standing at the southern end and looking north, the temple's ruined columns frame Mount Vesuvius.

The Basilica

On the western side, and the most architecturally ambitious building on the Forum. It began as a market and functioned as a covered law court and commercial exchange, with a two-storey tribunal at the far end where magistrates sat. Its scale — roughly 64 by 24 metres — makes it the largest roofed public space in the city.

The Macellum

The covered market at the north-east corner, roughly 37 by 27 metres, with a circular structure at its centre thought to have held a water basin for cleaning fish. Fish scales and bones recovered from it support that reading. Three entrances served it, the main one opening directly onto the Forum.

The Building of Eumachia

On the eastern side, funded by a priestess named Eumachia and dedicated in her own name and her son's — a rare and visible instance of a woman's public patronage in a Roman town. It is generally identified as a guild headquarters, most likely for the fullers who washed and finished cloth.

The Comitium

An open-air enclosure at the south-eastern corner, understood as the voting hall where elections for public office were held. The election notices painted on walls across Pompeii — hundreds still legible — were campaigning for the offices decided here.

How to walk the Forum

Arriving from Porta Marina, you enter the Forum from its south-western corner after a short uphill walk. That puts the Basilica immediately on your left and the full length of the square ahead of you.

A sensible 30–45 minute route:

1. Stand at the southern end and look north. This is the framing view, with the Temple of Jupiter and Vesuvius aligned.
2. Enter the Basilica on the west and walk to the tribunal end to get the sense of scale.
3. Cross to the Sanctuary of Apollo, the oldest cult site here.
4. Walk north up the square to the Temple of Jupiter podium.
5. Turn right into the Macellum in the north-east corner.
6. Continue south along the east side past the Building of Eumachia to the Comitium.

From the Comitium, Via dell'Abbondanza runs east toward the Stabian Baths, the Lupanar and eventually the Amphitheatre — the natural continuation of a first visit.

Practical notes

The open square is the main circulation space of the site and is normally accessible whenever the park is open. Individual buildings around it are another matter: the Basilica, Macellum and Eumachia can be closed for conservation work without much notice, and the Temple of Jupiter podium has had restricted access at times. Check the Park's open buildings list on your travel date rather than planning around a specific interior.

The Forum is exposed, with very little shade on the square itself. In July and August it is punishing by midday, which is an argument for arriving at opening and doing the Forum first.

For getting to the site, see our Naples to Pompeii day trip guide or the Sorrento route. For entrance choice, admission and what to bring, use the complete Pompeii visitor guide and the ticket guide. If you would rather have the Forum explained as you walk it, guided tours from Naples almost all include it.

Last checked: 13 September 2026. Building access and opening arrangements change for conservation; confirm current conditions with the Archaeological Park before visiting.

Official sources

• The Forum, Archaeological Park of Pompeii
• Open buildings, Archaeological Park of Pompeii
• Timetables and tickets, Archaeological Park of Pompeii