An Audio Guide to Ancient Rome20 Sep 2020

25: The Basilica Julia

The Basilica Julia was dedicated by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE – the same year that his nearby Forum was completed. Caesar funded the construction with monies taken during his highly successful campaigns in Gaul.

But his was not the first Basilica on this site. Over one hundred years earlier Tiberius Sempronius Graccus had bought a house from his father-in-law as well as adjacent butchers shops, tore them down and built in their place the Basilica Sempronia. This original building was smaller, covering roughly two-thirds of the site and positioned at the south east end (towards to the temple of Castor and Pollux).

Competing with his rival Pompey’s major Theater construction in the Fields of Mars, Caesar repaired and extended the Basilica Sempronia at the same time that he was building out the nearby Forum to the north that also bears his name.

In 7 BCE, fire ravaged the buildings around the forum with the Basilica Julia and the Temple of Castor and Pollux being particularly badly damaged. The temple was rebuilt first and rededicated in the year 6, however it took a total of 19 years for the Basilica to be repaired. When completed, emperor Augustus dedicated the building his deceased grandchildren Gaius and Lucius however this new name didn’t find common use.

The Basilica consisted of a central nave and four aisles divided by square pilasters of travertine. These were all once veneered with marble. The fronts and sides of the building were solid marble with Doric half columns projecting out of square pilasters.

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Episoder(36)

28: Trajan's Column

Trajan’s Column is a monument to Emperor Trajan’s victory in the wars with Dacia that took place between the years 101 and 106. It was part of a sequence of constructions built by or dedicated to Tra...

25 Feb 20218min

35: The Column of Marcus Aurelius

This monument celebrates Marcus Aurelius’ two successful military campaigns against tribes north of the Danube in what is modern day Germany. The first campaign ran from the year 172-173 and was wage...

17 Okt 202011min

34: The Mausoleum of Augustus

Augustus started building the mausoleum following his victory over Anthony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE at the naval battle on the west coast of Greece close to the promontory of Actium – his success broug...

10 Okt 202010min

33: The Theater of Marcellus

The Theater was named after Emperor Augustus’ nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus however the building was originally commissioned by Julius Caesar who bought and cleared the land in a space to the south...

3 Okt 202010min

32: The Pyramid of Cestius

The Pyramid of Cestius was built during the reign of the emperor Augustus, probably between 18 and 12 BCE. It’s surface is white Carrara marble and the tip is exactly 100 Roman feet (30 meters) high. ...

26 Sep 20207min

12: The Temple of Vesta

The Temple of Vesta was integrated into the adjacent House and Sanctuary of the Vestal Virgins. The only remains of the temple itself are a modest mound of concrete however there is a reconstruction o...

20 Sep 20204min

13: Temple of Divus Romulus

The Temple of Divus Romulus is recognizable as a tall round building on the North side of the Via Sacra. From the name you can be forgiven for thinking that this temple is dedicated to Romulus the leg...

20 Sep 20205min

14: Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is easily recognized by the six columns that dominate its front – these are topped by an entablature that carries the dedication to “Divo Antonino et Divae Faustin...

20 Sep 20205min