ce for commoners anymore. It was seen as an area reserved for the inner circle, and was controlled by the upper elite. This was largely started by the belief that the emperor possessed some sort of divine status.In the two following centuries the Forum was still enriched with the temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the temple of Romulus, the arch of Septimius Severus and the basilica of Maxentius. With the splitting up of the Roman Empire into an eastern- and a western part in 395 A.D., the power of Rome declined considerably and with it the significance of the Roman Forum. Constantinople become the new center of the world. The Forum started to disintegrate because of its lower status.The Forum was turned into a quarry to supply marble to support the new building projects. Criminals stole many of the bronze statues. Some buildings were given an overhaul and converted into Christian churches. The stealing of statues and exploitation of marble went on in the Renaissance. Officially, the Vatican supervised the ruins of the Roman Forum, but permission for occasional demolitions was easy to get. Gradually, the neglect and disrespect allowed the Forum to be covered by a field of grass. In the Middle Ages it was called 'il Campo Vaccino', which is Italian for 'cow field'.Even though it is now merely a tourist attraction, the Roman Forum used to be the center of the world, where great senators, merchants, and peasants all met in one area. ...
