Foro

With the extensive foundations of various public and private buildings, the Foro was a rectangular area  built after the Romans settled in Paestum (273 B.C.) in partially what was the agora of Poseidonia. The Greek/Lucanian agora ceased to be in use and instead a Roman forum was laid out in the southern part of the old agora.

For the Romans, the forum represented the beating heart of city life as the main political, social and religious activities were concentrated there. 

It has several public and religious buildings, shops, and is surrounded on three sides by a portico. The very northern extent of the forum seems largely bereft of visible remains. Some scant traces of a portico that lined the northern side of the forum area are visible. This portico essentially stretched along the entirety of the northern border, from where the Via Sacra enters the forum all the way east to the amphitheater. South of that was a temple that was probably dedicated to the imperial cult, though, it can be difficult to make out from ground level.

Traditional Roman buildings, especially those relating to political and juridical aspects, were constructed at the new forum and simultaneously the buildings with similar functions at the agora were demolished. The sanctuaries, however, remained in use, both the intramural and the extramural. They were respected by the new settlers and continued to be objects of worship.