Already from the first century B.C., the Forum was and remained one of the main meeting places in Zadar. In the 19th century, the area of Forum was a fruit and vegetable market surrounded by bars and cafés.

The Forum was built by the first Roman Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, as witnessed by the stone inscriptions dating back to the 3rd century, when the construction finished.

Since the first century B.C., the Forum was the main gathering place for Roman soldiers, religious people, administrators of the Republic and later of the Empire, as well as for traders and all Zadar citizens in Antiquity. At the time of its full glory, the Forum was surrounded on three sides by a magnificent portico. Today, it is an inevitable square for strolling and one of the symbols of the city.