The Curia Julia ( la, Curia Iulia, links=no, it, Curia Iulia, links=no) is the third named ''

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

'', or senate house, in the

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

city of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It was built in 44 BC, when

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

replaced Faustus Cornelius Sulla's reconstructed

Curia Cornelia The Curia Cornelia was a place where the Roman Senate assembled beginning c. 52 BC. It was the largest of all the ''Curiae'' (Senate Houses) built in Rome. Its construction took over a great deal of the traditional comitium space and brought the ...

, which itself had replaced the

Curia Hostilia The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early ...

. Caesar did so to redesign both spaces within the

Comitium The Comitium ( it, Comizio) was the original open-air public meeting space of Ancient Rome, and had major religious and prophetic significance. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium location at the northwest corner of th ...

and the

Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum ( plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancie ...

. The alterations within the Comitium reduced the prominence of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and cleared the original space. The work, however, was interrupted by Caesar's assassination at the

Curia of Pompey The Curia of Pompey, sometimes referred to as the ''Curia Pompeia'', was one of several named meeting halls from Republican Rome of historic significance. A ''curia'' was a designated structure for meetings of the senate. The Curia of Pompey was ...

of the

Theatre of Pompey The Theatre of Pompey ( la, Theatrum Pompeii, it, Teatro di Pompeo) was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus). Completed in 55BC, it was the first perma ...

, where the

had been meeting temporarily while the work was completed. The project was eventually finished by Caesar's successor,

Augustus Caesar Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, in 29 BC. The Curia Julia is one of a handful of Roman structures that survive mostly intact. This is due to its conversion into the basilica of Sant'Adriano al Foro in the 7th century and several later restorations. However, the roof, the upper elevations of the side walls and the rear

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

are modern and date from the remodeling of the

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to ...

church, in the 1930s.

History

There were many curiae during the history of the Roman civilization, many of them existing at the same time. Curia means simply "meeting house". While the senate met regularly at the curia within the

comitium The Comitium ( it, Comizio) was the original open-air public meeting space of Ancient Rome, and had major religious and prophetic significance. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium location at the northwest corner of th ...

space, there were many other structures designed for it to meet when the need occurred: for example, meeting with someone who was not allowed to enter the

sanctified Sanctified may refer to: *Sanctification, the process of making holy Music Albums * ''Sanctified'' (album), by Morgana Lefay, 1995 *''Sanctified'', by Jack McDuff, 1961 *''Sanctified'', by the Rance Allen Group, 1975 Songs *"Sanctified", by The ...

curias of the Senate. The Curia Julia is the third named curia within the comitium. Each structure was rebuilt a number of times but originated from a single

Etruscan temple Etruscan architecture was created between about 900 BC and 27 BC, when the expanding civilization of ancient Rome finally absorbed Etruscan civilization. The Etruscans were considerable builders in stone, wood and other materials of temples, hou ...

, built to honor the truce of the Sabine conflict. When this original temple was destroyed,

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, bel ...

rebuilt it and gave it his name. It lasted for a few hundred years until the curia was destroyed by fire from the impromptu funeral of

Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...

. A new structure was dedicated to its

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...

benefactor, Faustus Cornelius Sulla. In fact, the structure now in the forum is the second incarnation of Caesar's curia. From 81 to 96, the Curia Julia was restored under

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

. In 283, it was heavily damaged by a fire, at the time of Emperor

Carinus Marcus Aurelius Carinus (died 285) was Roman emperor from 283 to 285. The elder son of emperor Carus, he was first appointed ''Caesar'' and in the beginning of 283 co-emperor of the western portion of the empire by his father. Official accoun ...

. From 284 to 305, the Curia was then rebuilt by

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

. It is the remnants of Diocletian's building that stands today. In 412, the Curia was restored again, this time by

Urban Prefect The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

Annius Eucharius Epiphanius. On July 10, 1923, the Italian government acquired the Curia Julia and the adjacent convent of the Church of S. Adriano from the

Collegio di Spagna The Collegio di Spagna (Royal Spanish College or Royal College of Spain in Bologna) (officially ''Real Colegio Mayor de San Clemente de los Españoles'') is a college for Spanish students at the University of Bologna, Italy, which has been functi ...

for approximately £16,000.

Description

The exterior of the Curia Julia features

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

-faced

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

with a huge buttress at each angle. The lower part of the front wall was decorated with slabs of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

. The upper part was covered with stucco imitation of white marble blocks. A single flight of steps leads up to the

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

doors. The current bronze doors are modern replicas; the original bronze doors were transferred to the

Basilica of St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

in 1660.Claridge 1998, p. 71 A coin was found within the doors during their transfer. That allowed archaeologists to date repairs made to the Senate House and the addition of the bronze doors to the reign of Emperor

(AD 81–96). The original appearance of the Senate House is known from an Emperor Augustus denarius of 28 BC, which shows the veranda held up by columns on the front wall of the building. The interior of the Curia Julia is fairly austere. The hall is 25.20 m long by 17.61 m wide. There are three broad steps that could have fitted five rows of chairs or a total of about 300 senators. The walls are stripped but were originally veneered in marble two thirds of the way up. The two main features of the interior of the Curia Julia are its Altar of Victory and its striking floor. At the far end of the hall could be found the "Altar of

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

".Claridge 1998, p. 71 It consisted of a statue of Victoria, the personification of victory, standing on a

globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

, extending a

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

. The altar was placed in the Curia by Augustus to celebrate Rome's military prowess, more specifically his own victory at the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ...

, in 31 BC. The altar was removed in 384 AD, as part of a general backlash against the pagan traditions of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

after the rise of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. The other main feature of the Curia's interior, the floor, is in contrast to the building's colorless exterior. Featured on the floor is the Roman art technique of

opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The ...

in which materials are cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make pictures of patterns. That is described by Claridge as " stylized rosettes in squares alternate with opposed pairs of entwined cornucopias in rectangles, all worked in green and red porphyry on backgrounds of Numidian yellow Phrygian purple".

Significance

Inside Restored Senate House(Curia) FORUM 11Mar2006

In his ''

Res Gestae Divi Augusti ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' (Eng. ''The Deeds of the Divine Augustus'') is a monumental inscription composed by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The ''Res Gestae'' is especially sig ...

'', Augustus writes of the project: "I built the Senate House... with the power of the state entirely in my hands by universal consent, I extinguished the flames of civil wars, and then relinquished my control, transferring the Republic back to the authority of the Senate and the Roman people. For this service I was named Augustus by a decree of the Senate". In fact, the relinquishment of power was truer in word than in deed; the construction of the Curia Julia coincided with the end of Republican Rome. In the past, the Curia Hostilia and Comitium "were oriented by the cardinal points of the compass, which may have marked them out as specially augurated space and at any rate set them off obliquely from the Forum rectangle that formed over the centuries". Breaking with tradition, the Curia Julia was reoriented by Julius Caesar "on more 'rational' lines, squaring it up with the rectangular lines of the Forum and even more closely with his new forum, to which the new Senate House formed an architectural appendage more in keeping with the Senate's increasing subordination". The reduced power of the Roman Senate during the Imperial Period is reflected by the Curia Julia's less prominent location and orientation.Aicher 2004, p. 87-89 Still, the two buildings had similarities. Both the Curia Hostilia's Tabula Valeria and the Curia Julia's Altar of Victory in the Curia Julia, attest to the enduring preeminence of Rome's military despite the reduced role of the Senate. File:2012-02-17 Foro Romano da Palazzo Senatorio 3.jpg, 17 February 2012. A view of the Roman Forum seen from a window of the Palazzo Senatorio: at the centre the church of St. Martina and Luca; at the lower right corner the Arch of Septimius Severus File:CuriaIulia.JPG, 13 November 2013 View of the Curia Julia and the church of St. Martina and Luca

Works cited

* Aicher, Peter J. ''Rome Alive: A Source-Guide to the Ancient City''. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci, 2004. * Claridge, Amanda. Rome.
An Oxford Archaeological Guide
'. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. * Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G. ''Ambrose of Milan; Political Letters and Speeches.'' Translated Texts for Historians, vol. 43. Liverpool University Press, 2010. * Platner, Samuel Ball and Thomas Ashby (ed.). ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome''. London: Oxford University Press, 1929. * Stambaugh, John E. ''The Ancient Roman City''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988. * Richardson, Lawrence. ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. * University of California. ''Digital Roman Forum''. Retrieved 10 March 2007. University of California, Los Angeles, 2005. * http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum

References

External links