Roman Forum & Palatine Hill Super Pass Tickets with Audio App Rome

The Roman Forum, the Curia Iulia and the Temple of Romulus

The Roman Forum was the political, religious and commercial heart of ancient Rome for over a thousand years. Walking along the Via Sacra you pass the Arch of Titus, the House of the Vestals with its statues of the priestesses who guarded the sacred fire, the Temple of Saturn and the Rostra, where speeches were made to the crowd. Your pass also opens two buildings that standard visitors only see from outside.

The Curia Iulia, the Senate House, was rebuilt around AD 303 and survived because it became a church; inside you walk on its original coloured marble floor. The Temple of Romulus, a round building of the early fourth century, still has its original bronze doors on their hinges. With Roman Forum tickets that include these interiors, allow two to three hours for this area alone.

Santa Maria Antiqua, the Sistine Chapel of the early Middle Ages

At the foot of the Palatine Hill, Santa Maria Antiqua is one of the most extraordinary places in the Forum. In the sixth century a Roman imperial building was converted into a church, and over the next three hundred years its walls were painted again and again. An earthquake in AD 847 buried it, sealing the frescoes until excavations in 1900 brought them back to light.

Inside you see saints, popes and scenes from the Gospels painted in Greek and Roman styles, and the famous palimpsest wall, where layers from different centuries overlap on the same surface. Access is restricted to small numbers to protect the paintings, which is why Santa Maria Antiqua tickets come with SUPER passes rather than the standard entry. Plan around 30 minutes and follow the audio app explanation of each layer.

The Palatine Hill, the Domus Tiberiana and the Palatine Museum

The Palatine Hill, the central of Rome's seven hills, is where tradition says the city was founded and where emperors later built their vast palaces. Paths lead past the throne rooms and courtyards of the imperial residence, the sunken garden shaped like a stadium and terraces with views over the Circus Maximus and back over the Forum.

On the side facing the Forum rises the Domus Tiberiana, an imperial palace whose arches and terraces reopened to the public after decades of restoration, with displays on the life of the court. The Palatine Museum gathers sculptures, frescoes and finds from the hill, from the traces of Iron Age huts to the statues that decorated the palaces. Plan at least two hours on the Palatine to see these properly.

The House of Augustus, the House of Livia, the Aula Isiaca and Loggia Mattei

These are the jewels of the SUPER pass. The House of Augustus preserves rooms painted in vivid red, ochre and blue, with architectural illusions and theatrical masks that still look fresh after two thousand years. Nearby, the House of Livia shows delicate mythological and garden scenes. Both are opened in small groups to protect the plaster; the House of Augustus is closed on Mondays and the House of Livia on Tuesdays.

The Aula Isiaca is a first-century hall decorated with Egyptian-inspired motifs connected to the cult of Isis, displayed today in rooms beneath the Loggia Mattei, a sixteenth-century loggia whose own frescoes add a Renaissance chapter to the hill. Check the day's opening times at the Palatine entrance, as SUPER sites can rotate, and plan your visit around them.

The Imperial Forum route and the Roman Forum Museum

The pass also includes the walkway route through the Imperial Forums, the monumental squares built by emperors when the old Forum became too small. You see the Forum of Caesar and the Forum of Nerva from within, close to Trajan's Column, and can enter or leave by Piazza della Madonna di Loreto, next to the column.

The Roman Forum Museum displays finds from excavations in the Forum, from early burials to architectural fragments and sculpture, explaining how the valley changed from a marsh into the centre of an empire. Many visitors ask how to get to the Roman Forum: Colosseo metro station on line B is a few minutes from the Via Sacra entrance, and buses stop at Piazza Venezia, near the Imperial Forum entrance.