Basilica Julia

The Basilica Julia was a civil basilica in the Roman Forum. Construction began under Julius Caesar in 46 BC and was completed by Augustus, who ultimately dedicated the basilica to Gaius and Lucius Caesar in 12 AD. 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 AD 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.