| Julia Basilica (Basilica Giulia) (picture by Peter Watts) |  |
Julia Basilica (Basilica Giulia)
Julia Basilica (Basilica Giulia)
The Julia Basilica (Basilica Giulia) was built in the Roman Forum. Construction began in 54BC under Julius Caesar, and was completed after his death by Augustus. The Basilica was destroyed by fire in 2BC when it was rebuilt and dedicated to Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar, from which the name Julia Basilica comes.The basilicas of ancient Roman were not places of worship, but large covered areas used as meeting places. The Julia Basilica housed tribunals overseen by 180 jurors and other events when the weather was too poor to have them outside. The basilica was about 100m long and 50m wide. There was a 80m x 16m central court surrounded by aisles over which the second storey gallery was built.
The Julia Basilica continued an unfortunate liaison with fire. It burnt down again 283 and was restored by Diocletian. Eventually, Alaric the Goth put a final end to the Julia Basilica by destroying it with fire during the sacking of Rome. After that all useful building materials was plundered for other projects. All that now remains are a few scattered pillars and the basic floor plan. The central court and the aisles can still roughly be made out. Some of the stones have makings carved into them which formed permanent board game layouts people would play between meetings.
This panoramic image was taken from the Southern edge of the Julia Basilica. This is one of the few shady areas in the whole of the Roman Forum. From this point various other ruins in the Forum can be seen. To the far right of the Julia Basilica are 3 surviving columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux (built in gratitude for victory at the battle of Lake Regillus in 495 BC).
Moving left from here is the Temple of Romulus and then the intact Temple of Antonius and Faustina (now the church of S Lorenzo). Near the middle in the background is the Curia (the senate house where Roman senators met during the Republic) and then the church of S Luca e Martina. To the left of this is the Arch of Septimus Severus, partially obscured by the Column of Phocas (a monument dedicated to the Byzantine emperor Phocas 608). Finally the Temple of Saturn is to the right, but all that really remains of this are a few columns.
You can get a very good understanding of the layout of the Julia Basilica from a vantage point on the Palatine Hill.
Pictures of Rome with local and travel information about Rome from PanoramicEarth.com