Tabularium

As you go down the Clivus Capitolinus, towards the Roman Forum, you see the only building from Republican Rome still in good condition – the Tabularium. Built in 78 BC, it was designed to house the State Archives and was therefore a public building of some importance. Moreover it was a symbol of the Roman Senators' return to power.

The facade is impressive with its powerful base and length of 74 meters constructed entirely of blocks of tufa and peperino stone. The large colonnades looking down onto the forum provide a conclusion to the Capitoline stage setting. The building connected the two peaks of the Capitoline Hill and a tunnel provided safe transport for gold and silver between the Temple of Saturn and the Mint.