This is the largest urban map and is almost two thousand years old

This is the largest urban map and is almost two thousand years old

The Forma Urbis Romae was a map of the capital of the Roman Empire, etched between 203 and 211 AD, on marble slabs mounted inside the Forum of Peace in Rome.

Currently, only gragments of the original specimen are preserved .

Only a few fragments survive

The map was 18 meters wide and 13 meters high, and detailed the plans of all the architectural elements of the city, including small sheds, rooms and staircases.

The scale of the plan is approximately 1: 240 with the north down , showing with a high degree of detail the plans of each temple, baths, insula, etc. of the city of Rome in the 3rd century AD. Many of the buildings also bear his name engraved, making the map an exceptional document.

Mapancientformaurbisromae Fragment of the Urbis Form in which the cavea of ​​the Theater of Pompey is reflected.

Unfortunately of the more than 1000 fragments preserved , only fewer than 160 pieces have been placed at one site. Since 1999, Stanford University in San Francisco, California, has created a database with all the preserved fragments, with the aim of trying to place some of the pieces in their original position using various computer techniques.

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