Basilica Julia
Computer generated image | |
Basilica Julia Shown within Augustan Rome | |
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| Location | Regio VIII Forum Romanum |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°53′31″N 12°29′05″E / 41.89195°N 12.48478°E |
| Type | Basilica |
| History | |
| Builder | Gaius Julius Caesar |
| Founded | 46 BC |
The Basilica Julia (Italian: Basilica Giulia) was a civil basilica in the Roman Forum. Construction began under Julius Caesar in 46 BCE and was completed by Augustus, who ultimately dedicated the basilica to Gaius and Lucius Caesar in 12 CE. It served as the headquarters for the centumviri, a judicial court that primarily dealt with matters of inheritance. The basilica was destroyed by fire in 283 CE but was rebuilt and embellished throughout the late Imperial era. The three-story marble structure remained a prominent landmark in the Forum through much of Late Antiquity. By the Middle Ages, however, it had been stripped of its materials, and part of the structure was converted into a Christian church. Today, excavations reveal the foundations and corner walls of the original Augustan basilica, as well as pillars, plinths, and columns from its reconstruction under Diocletian.