Official Information
Official website: https://www.mercatiditraiano.it/
Online tickets: https://museiincomuneroma.vivaticket.it/it/tour/mercati-di-traiano/2382
Address: Via Quattro Novembre 94, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
Google map: View on Google Maps
Opening Hours
Generally daily 09:30–19:30; 24 and 31 December 09:30–14:00; closed 1 May and 25 December; last entry one hour before closing. Always check the Avvisi section on the official site for seasonal changes and extraordinary openings.
Trajan’s Markets and the Museum of the Imperial Forums occupy a unique multi-level complex on the slopes of the Quirinal Hill, overlooking Via dei Fori Imperiali. Built in brick and concrete at the beginning of the second century AD, the complex is traditionally associated with Emperor Trajan’s vast urban renewal program and the construction of his forum. The curved market hall, tabernae and terraced structures once framed the great hemicycle that closed the eastern side of Trajan’s Forum, serving as a mix of administrative offices and commercial spaces connected to the imperial projects of the area. Today the ancient architecture has been carefully consolidated and adapted to house the Museo dei Fori Imperiali, which interprets the entire system of imperial forums from Caesar to Trajan.
Inside, you find sculptures, architectural fragments, inscriptions and decorative elements originally from the forums, arranged to reconstruct the appearance and political messages of these monumental squares. Models, plans and multimedia aids help visitors visualise how the forums related to each other and to the surrounding city. As you climb through the various levels you move from the covered Grand Hall and small barrel-vaulted shops to open terraces planted with Mediterranean vegetation. These terraces offer some of the best elevated views onto Trajan’s Forum, the Column of Trajan and the line of Via dei Fori Imperiali, especially atmospheric in the late afternoon.
The museum route makes it easier to understand how fragments displayed in other Roman collections once fit into grand sculptural programs, from cycle reliefs celebrating imperial victories to colossal architectural orders. Because the building itself is Roman, visitors also get a lesson in ancient engineering: the use of brick-faced concrete, large vaulted spaces and clever adaptation to the hillside. Combined with its central location between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum, Trajan’s Markets are an ideal stop for travellers who want both panoramic views and a deeper, less superficial understanding of the imperial forums beyond simply walking along the street level.