Special thanks to Tony Polzer of 3 Millenia Tours for the following news:
Starting March 9th the forum will no longer be free to the people. The ticket will be a combination Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman Forum ticket. It will be the same price as the current Colosseum/Palatine Hill ticket. However, this ticket will be valid for two days.
In addition to this, the forum will have to make some accessibility changes. For those of you that have been to the forum before might know that some of the gates are no more then just that: small access gates. But since we are now dealing with a paid entrance, these small access gates will no longer be sufficient to handle ticket sales. Therefore, here are the changes to each access gate:
-Via San Gregorio (former Palatine Hill only entrace) – entrance and exit for the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill
-Via dei Fori Imperiali (to the right of Chiesa dei S. Cosma e Damiano) – entrance and exit for the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill
-Arch of Titus – exit only
-Mamertine Prison/Arch of Septimius Severus – exit only
-S. Teodoro (Via della Consolazione) – closed
-Campidoglio (Via Sacra) – closed
There is currently a movement underway by tourist agencies to protest this change as it greatly hampers the flow of tours and people.