Via Dei Fori Imperiali At Sunset In Rome, Italy Editorial Image

Bronze statue of the Emperor Augustus in Via dei Fori Imperiali at sunset in Rome, Italy. In the background the Forum of Augustus and the Torre dei Conti, a medieval fortified tower. The Via dei Fori Imperiali was built by order of the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, in the period between 1924 and 1932. It was named Via dell Impero when it was inaugurated. The new road removed over 80% of the Imperial Forums of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nerva, Vespasian and Trajan and completely changed the landscape and character of the heart of Rome slicing the Fora area in two. Mussolini even capped the project by installing Bronze statues of the Emperors who Forums he had partially destroyed. The statues of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Trajan and Nerva still decorate the grand boulevard. As of August 2013, the Via dei Fori Imperiali was closed to public traffic.