Trajan's Market

Trajan's Markets had been built by Apollodoro, a genial architect who always followed Trajan in his adventures, in the beginning of II century A.D.. During the middle age the complex was transformed adding some floors still visible today and building some defensive elements as the Torre delle Milizie built in 1200. Also a convent was later built in this area and demolished at the beginning of XX cent. to give back to restore Trajan's Markets to the city of Rome. The entrance is in via IV Novembre as once was and immediately the visitor enter into a shopping area disposed on two different where it was distributed wheat for free to the people of Rome. At the end of this hall a large balcony offers a beautiful view on the markets, Trajan's Forum and Vittoriano. Really this is not a balcony but a part of the Via Biberatica (from biber meaninig drink, as here there were mostly taverns and grocer's shops) that starts from the entrance and cut in two part the Trakjan's Market. The upper part was surely used for offices while the lower part in front of the Trajan's Forum had expecially shops selling oil, wines, seafood, groceries, vegetables and fruits. The upper part shows medieval houses on the top part facing the semicircolar part of the via Biberatica. The lower part shows today two floors: a ground floor level composed by shops with entry made in travertino, a white stone, surmounted by an arch. The second level was fromed by adjoined shops selling wines and oil. A third level, today visible only by some walls, appeared at the via Biberatica and probably was used for grocer's shops. On the lower part there're also two big halls probably used for audition or concerts.