Basilica Aemilia

According to Livy, in the year 179 BCE, censors M. Aemilius Lepidus and M. Fulvius Nobilor were given national funds to spend on various public construction projects. It was M. Fulvius Nobilor who allegedly called for the construction of the basilica, which is evident by the fact that the basilica was originally referred to as ‘Basilica Fulvia’, and it was built behind the argentaria novae (new bank, in translation) and a fish market. It was later rebuilt by consul M. Aemilius Lepidus in 78 BEC, who had adorned it with engraved shields and ancestral portraits. Then, in 55 BCE, L. Aemilius Paullus restored the basilica with the financial backing of Caesar. A fire broke out in 14 BCE, which called for the reconstruction of the basilica once more—which was restored by a member of the Aemilius family but was financed by Augustus and friends of Paullus. Finally, it was partially demolished in 410 AD during the Sack of Rome, leaving the temple in ruins. 

In terms of its architecture, it was said that Augustus established its definitive structure with the addition of a solid marble portico facing the forum, with its iconographic program altered to represent the imperial family of Augustus through mythological themes that praised Roman history from the legend of Romulus and Remus to the Golden Age. This basilica was supposedly colored and housed colored marble barbarian statues and Parthian officials. Functionally, it may have been used for both mercantile and monetary reasons, specifically housing bankers’ offices and shops for luxury goods. Moreover, it also functioned as a law court, which was a common function for basilicas at the time. 

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Sources: 

  1. McDaniel, Walton Brooks. “Basilica Aemilia.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 32, no. 2, 1928, pp. 155–78. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/497580. Accessed 6 May 2024.
  2. Live, Ancient Rome. “Ancient Rome Live | Monuments of Rome | Basilica Aemilia-Paulli.” Ancient Rome Live, 17 Jan. 2021, ancientromelive.org/basilica-aemilia-paulli/. 
  3. Ertel, Christine, et al. “Arachne.” Arachne.dainst.org, arachne.dainst.org/project/basilaemil. 
  4. Watkin, David. The Roman Forum. Harvard University Press, 2009., pp. 20-21.
Basilica Aemilia