Museo e Foro Romano (Roman Forum and Museum), Assisi

Leaving the Portica Street, one comes upon the Town Hall Square. The square is dominated by the facade of the ancient Temple of Minerva, goddess of wisdom. The temple is now the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.

The path to the Forum starts from the crypt of San Nicolo. The crypt and the Civic Museum (Museo Civico) share a corridor. Visitors walk over glass covering the original Roman paving stones underneath. On the wall is an inscription celebrating the Quattuorviri, the four Roman magistrates who ruled Assisi.

Finally come to the "Room of the Vaults." The room provides a complete view of the Forum. Archeologists believe the site to be a court containing large parallelepipeds of pink limestone. These were probably for seats for the magistrates. There is also a temple with columns dedicated to the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, sons of Jupiter.

The museum was officially established in 1934 on the site of the church of San Nicolo, which was demolished in 1926. Only the crypt of San Nicolo remains.