t The red-brick Trajan’s Markets complex, the world’s first shopping mall
Originally considered among the wonders of the Classical world, this visionary complex of 150 shops and offices was built by Emperor Trajan and architect Apollodorus of Damascus in the 2nd century AD.
t The red-brick Trajan’s Markets complex, the world’s first shopping mall
The ancient Roman equivalent of the modern shopping mall, Trajan’s Markets was a complex of shops on five levels, selling everything from silks and spices imported from the Middle East to fresh fish, fruit, flowers, wine, oil and fabrics. The top tier was occupied by welfare offices that administered the free corn ration to Roman men and boys. Via Biberatica, the main street, is named after the drinking inns that once lined it. The Torre delle Milizie, the large tower above the Markets, was built in the Middle Ages. The Museo dei Fori Imperiali charts the growth of the extensions to the Roman Forum from Julius Caesar onwards.
Experience Forum and Palatine
t Remnants of the Forum of Trajan, built in front of the markets in AD 107–113
Experience Forum and Palatine
Shops opened early and closed at about noon. The most upmarket stores were decorated with mosaics of the goods they sold. Almost all the shopping was done by men, although women visited dressmakers and cobblers. The traders were also almost all male. In employment records for the period AD 117–193, the only female shopkeepers mentioned are three wool-sellers, two jewellers, a greengrocer and a fishwife.
Experience Forum and Palatine
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Eat Terre e Domus della Provincia di Roma Right by Trajan’s Markets, this small modern restaurant serves Roman cuisine made with the freshest local ingredients. The cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) pasta is especially good, and there’s a very strong wine list. H5 ⌂ Foro Traiano 82 ∑ palazzovalentini.it/terre-domus ¡¡¡ |