The Basilica Julia consists of the long south side of the Roman Forum and is verged on the west by the Vicus Iugarius and on the east by the Vicus Tuscus, which separate it respectively from the Temple of Saturn and the Temple of the Castors.

Work on the structure was started in 54 B.C. by Julius Caesar, from whom it took its name, and it was committed in 46 B.C. The location was formerly inhabited by the tabernae veteres (market stores) and the Basilica Sempronia, constructed in 169 B.C. by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, father of the plebeian tribunes Tiberius and Gaius. At that time the home of Scipio Africanus, in addition to different stores, had actually needed to be taken apart.

Reconstruction Video of Basilica Julia:

The Basilica Julia was ended up by Augustus, who needed to rebuild the structure after its damage in a fire of 14 B.C. In A.D. 12 he devoted the Basilica to his embraced sons Gaius and Lucius. The fire of Carinus in A.D. 283 triggered significant damage and Diocletian saw to the restoration. It was again partly ruined when Alaric sacked Rome in A.D. 410 and it was rebuilded in A.D. 416 by the prefect of the city, Gabinius Vettius Probianus.

The Basilica Julia was the meeting-place of the four tribunals of the centumviri, a special court of justice which dealt with civil cases. It likewise functioned as a meeting point for those who often visited the Forum. The structure, enforcing in size (m. 96×48), was made up of a big main area (m. 82×18) with 4 aisles around it which were suggested to work as passages. They were risen and set on 2 stories, with arches framed by engaged columns.

The big main hall should have been divided into 4 parts by wood partitions or drapes, so that 4 courts might bring on business at the exact same time, although in especially essential cases it was utilized in its totality. The only part of the structure still extant is the stepped podium, while the brick piers are a modern-day additon.

Still in location are different pedestals for statues, with engravings, 3 which name Praxitiles, Polykleitos, and Timarchus as sculptors. Different “gaming boards” (tabulae lusoriae) have actually been scratched into the pavement and actions, most likely by the idlers who spent time in the Forum.

There are likewise graffiti sketches of a few of the statues. Trial digs brought out inside the structure have actually exposed the remains of the Basilica Sempronia, under which was discovered the impluvium of exactly what should when have been the house of Scipio Africanus. In the Middle Ages a church (Santa Maria in Cannapara) was built at west side of Basilica Julia. The surviving remains mostly date from 305 A.D.

Basilica Julia & Rome Tours:

Colosseum to Basilica Julia

Basilica Julia set in the Roman Forum, 0,7 km from (8 min walk) from Colosseum.