On a
heavily trafficked street where few tourists pass in the heart of
ancient Rome lies the entrance to one of the Eternal City's most
extraordinary and overlooked monuments -- Trajan's Market.
Built
in the second century AD as a series of vaulted offices for managers of
the nearby Trajan Forum headed up by a "procurator", the architectural
complex has served as a fortress, a convent and a barracks over the
centuries.
Clinging
to a hillside that overlooks the Roman Forum, the nearly 2,000-year-old
monument offers spectacular views over the Colosseum.
The
site is often referred to as the "world's oldest shopping mall," but its
name is something of a misnomer as it was never the main market of
Imperial Rome, site director Lucrezia Ungaro told AFP.
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