Roman Forum hosts Volumina reading group on 4 November

The Roman Forum (Foro Romano) in Rome, Italy, hosts the Volumina reading group on 4 November 2026. The meeting takes place at the Museo del Foro Romano, Santa Maria Nova, linking a contemporary discussion of literature with one of the city’s central archaeological sites.

Volumina brings a reading group to the Forum

Volumina begins at 4.30pm on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Andrea Schiappelli, an archaeological official, will discuss Roy Lewis’s book The Evolution Man, whose Italian title is Il più grande uomo scimmia del Pleistocene.

The meeting is organised by Astrid D’Eredità and Lucia Marsicano, archaeological officials of the Colosseum Archaeological Park. The official event notice says that the session is open to Membership Card holders, visitors to the park and people interested in reading. The 4 November programme requires registration through the stated park email address. Admission to the initiative is free according to the organiser.

The reading venue sits among Rome’s ancient civic monuments

Santa Maria Nova is part of the Museo del Foro Romano within the archaeological park. The event therefore takes place inside the wider Forum complex rather than at a separate bookshop, theatre or conference centre. Its setting brings the reading group into direct contact with the remains of ancient Rome’s political and religious centre.

The Forum valley was originally marshland. After it was drained from the late seventh century BC, the area began to develop and remained the centre of public life for more than a millennium. The site later gained political, religious and commercial buildings, including basilicas used for judicial activities. The heritage authority describes the Forum as lying between the Capitoline, Esquiline and Palatine hills.

The ancient complex also contains monuments from several periods. The Arch of Septimius Severus was built in 203 AD, while the last monument erected in the Forum was a column dedicated to the Byzantine emperor Phocas in 608 AD. Those layers explain why a reading session in the museum has a setting shaped by more than a thousand years of civic history.

Visiting Roman Forum: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Volumina takes place on 4 November 2026 at the Museo del Foro Romano, Santa Maria Nova, inside the Roman Forum complex.
• The session starts at 4.30pm, and the organiser states that entry to the initiative is free. Registration is required through the email address given on the official event page.
• The event entrance is the Arch of Titus access point, as specified by the Colosseum Archaeological Park.
• The Forum is at Largo della Salara Vecchia 5/6 in Rome. The nearest named metro connection is Line B at Colosseo, with bus routes 51, 75, 81, 85, 87 and 118 also listed by the park.
• The official language is Italian and Italy uses the euro.

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Frequently asked questions about Roman Forum

When does Volumina take place at the Roman Forum?

The reading group takes place on 4 November 2026 at the Museo del Foro Romano, Santa Maria Nova. It begins at 4.30pm.

What is Volumina at the Roman Forum?

Volumina is a reading group organised by the Colosseum Archaeological Park. On 4 November 2026, Andrea Schiappelli discusses a book by Roy Lewis.

Where is the Roman Forum and how do you get there?

The site is at Largo della Salara Vecchia 5/6 in Rome. Line B serves Colosseo station, and the park also lists bus routes 51, 75, 81, 85, 87 and 118.