Jump to content

Basilica Aemilia

Coordinates: 41°53′33″N 12°29′10″E / 41.892554°N 12.48623°E / 41.892554; 12.48623
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basilica Aemilia
Computer generated reconstruction of the basilica as it appeared under Augustus
Basilica Aemilia is located in Rome
Basilica Aemilia
Basilica Aemilia
Shown in ancient Rome
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
LocationRegio IV Templum Pacis
Coordinates41°53′33″N 12°29′10″E / 41.892554°N 12.48623°E / 41.892554; 12.48623
TypeBasilica
History
BuilderMarcus Fulvius Nobilior
Founded179 BC

The Basilica Aemilia (Italian: Basilica Emilia), or the Basilica Paulli, was a civil basilica in the Roman Forum. Lucius Aemilius Paullus initiated its construction, but the building was completed by his son, Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, in 34 BCE. Under Augustus, it was reconstructed in 22 CE and was described by Pliny as one of the most beautiful examples of Roman architecture.[1] Today, only fragments of the floorplan and colonnade remain, but a continuous sculptural frieze from the lower entablature was partially reconstructed and is now preserved inside the neighboring Curia Julia.

History

[edit]

Pre-existing structures

[edit]

According to Livy, a series of butcher shops (tabernae lanienae) lined the central area of the Forum from the early Roman Republic era.[2] Varro writes that by 310 BCE, the butchers had been relocated outside the Forum and their former storefronts were turned over to bankers (tabernae argentariae).[3] A fire in 210 BCE destroyed these tabernae and Livy refers to the newly built shops as argentariae novae.[4] Based on their use as landmarks by Cicero when describing the Forum,[5] it is certain that the argentariae novae occupied the northern side of the Forum, placing them directly in front of what would eventually become the Basilica Aemilia. Above these tabernae were maeniana, or viewing galleries for sporting events held in the Forum.[6]

In two of his plays, Plautus mentions an unnamed basilica near the tabernae in the Forum[7] and the nearby Shrine of Venus Cloacina,[8] leading scholars to believe that the first basilica on this site may have been built after the fire of 210 BCE,[9] possibly between 195 and 191 BCE.[10] Archaeologists have uncovered the original foundations of this basilica, made of Monteverde tuff, along with evidence of a northeast portico facing the Forum Piscarium.[9]

Basilica Fulvia

[edit]
Further information: Basilica Fulvia
Coin of M. Aemilius Lepidus showing the Basilica Aemilia decorated with shields

Livy reports that in 179 BCE, the consuls Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus directed the construction of a new basilica behind the argentariae novae in the Forum.[11] Varro records that a water clock was installed by Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio in 159 BCE near the "Basilica Aemilia et Fulvia,"[12] marking the first textual reference to the basilica by that name.[9] The contribution of the gens Aemilia to the basilica continued in 78 BCE when another consul named Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was reported by Pliny to have adorned the structure with shields.[13] Roman coins from 61 BCE depict the two-storied basilica with circular ornamentation between two colonnaded registers, possibly representing the shields said to have been placed there by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.[14]

The basilica's foundations consisted of Grotta Oscura tuff upholding a travertine floor. A colonnade fronted the pre-existing tabernae and ran along the entire length of the southwest façade. The most groundbreaking architectural feature of the Basilica Fulvia was the enlargement of the central nave, which was supported by two rows of columns that created an unbroken and expansive interior plane. This stood in stark contrast to the hypostyle layout of the Greek stoai, on which the earliest Roman basilicas were modeled, where columns dominated the interior space.[15] Today, only a portion of the foundations can be seen beneath a canopy to the northwest of the site.[9]

Basilica Aemilia, as seen today.

Basilica Aemilia/Paulli

[edit]

Construction of a new basilica on the site appears to have begun by 55 BCE under Lucius Aemilius Paullus, as recorded by Appian.[16] Plutarch reports that in 50 BCE, Julius Caesar may have bribed the Paullus family by gifting 1,500 talents for the beautification of the basilica in exchange for their political neutrality during his conflict with Pompey.[17] Cicero writes that this new basilica reused columns from the earlier Basilica Fulvia.[18] It was completed in 34 BCE by Paullus's son, Paullus Aemilius Lepidus,[19] but a fire in 14 BCE destroyed much of the structure.[20] That same year, a second phase of construction occurred under Augustus, who dedicated the new edifice to the gens Aemilia.[21] In 2 BCE, Augustus also dedicated the newly monumentalized portico above the tabernae to his grandsons Giaus and Lucius Caesar.[22] All this occurred at a time when the emperor began to exert absolute control over all construction in the Roman Forum, and it is clear that Augustus also prioritized projects that had historical associations with Julis Caesar. The gens Aemilia also had strong familial connections with Augustus, since Paullus Aemilius Lepidus married Augustus' stepdaughter Cornelia.[23]

Drawing of the remains of the Basilica Aemilia, by Giuliano da Sangallo, 1480.
Drawing of the remains of the Basilica Aemilia, by Giuliano da Sangallo, 1480.

The Basilica Aemilia stood for nearly 400 years in the Roman Forum, undergoing a restoration in 22 CE under the direction of the senator Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.[22] A series of small temples in the portico were added throughout the 2nd and 3rd centuries.[24] A portion of the basilica's floorplan appears on a small fragment of the Forma Urbis Romae, showing the tabernae along the southwest side and an interior colonnade with the inscription "[B]ASILIC[A]."[25] The basilica was ultimately destroyed during the sack of Rome in 410 CE by Alaric I and his Visigoth army, as evidenced by bronze coins burned into the pavement that remain visible on the site today.[26] While the tabernae remained in use until the 6th century, the site itself fell into disrepair throughout the early Middle Ages until an earthquake in 847 destroyed what remained of the structure.[24] During the Renaissance, architects reused the basilica's building materials as spolia, notably at the Palazzo Torlonia[24] and in San Biagio in Montepulciano.[27] A drawing by Giuliano da Sangallo from 1480 depicts the Basilica Aemilia in a ruinous state.[28]

Giacomo Boni was the first archaeologist to excavate the site from 1898 to 1912, uncovering the tabernae, portico, and basilica. Alfonso Bartoli continued excavations from 1922 to 1940, clearing the site to reveal the shops underneath the portico along the Via Sacra. In 1939, the Roman city government declared the full "liberation" of the basilica.[10] By 1948, under Pietro Romanelli and Gianfilippo Carettoni, much of the basilica's interior colonnade was excavated. Heinrich Bauer's research, beginning in the early 1970s, reshaped academic reconstructions of the basilica. In the 21st century, new work by Klaus Freyberger, Christine Etel, and Johannes Lipps continues to reveal more about the basilica and its function.[24]

Description

[edit]

Location

[edit]

The Basilica Aemilia is located on the northeast edge of the Roman Forum, running parallel to the Via Sacra. It is flanked on either side by the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, and the Curia Julia, putting it at the heart of civic, economic, and religious activity in the city of Rome. The Cloaca Maxima runs underneath the basilica, as evidenced by the presence of the nearby Shrine of Venus Cloaca, located in front of the tabernae facing the Forum. In the late first century CE, the construction of the Temple of Peace and the Forum of Nerva to the north of the basilica rendered the southern façade facing the Via Sacra and Forum the most visible.[29]

Exterior

[edit]

The basilica stood on a tufa podium with a continuous marble staircase on three sides, granting access from the Forum to the southwest-facing porticus. Its façade featured engaged Doric columns with fluted shafts, Attic bases, and capitals decorated with egg-and-dart molding. Each bay of the entablature included five triglyphs, four metopes alternating between bucrania and decorative shields, and a richly carved cornice with coffered soffits and projecting modillions. All three façades were topped with a Doric entablature and attic, and decorated bases supported colossal statues of Parthian prisoners above the half-columns. These figures, possibly numbering at least eighteen, were carved from Pavonazzo marble and giallo antico, with Pentelic marble heads. Between each statue were niches intended for imagines clipeatae, likely recalling earlier commemorative portraits, likely referencing commemorative portraits installed by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 78 BCE.[10]

A fragmentary pediment shown in the drawing by Giuliano da Sangello at the west end suggests that the basilica featured a wooden gabeled roof at its east and west end. Additional decorative and architectural elements were concentrated along the building's northern and southern flanks. The outermost colonnade, forming a shallow porch, was constructed with shafts of Cipollino marble, but was later walled off in the late 1st century CE, due to the nearly Temple of Peace and Forum of Nerva.

Interior

[edit]

A new edifice in substitution of the Basilica Fulvia was begun in 55 BC by Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, and inaugurated by his son in 34 BC. This edifice had similar lines to the preceding one; however with a reduced length and a second nave in lieu of the back portico.[citation needed]

The columns in the central nave, in African marble, had Corinthian capitals and friezes with deeds from the history of Republican Rome. The columns in the second row were in cipolline marble and, finally, the external ones had Ionic capitals.[citation needed]

After a fire, Augustus in 14 BC heavily restored the edifice.[30] In this occasion the tabernae which preceded it towards the Forum square and the portico were totally rebuilt. The latter was dedicated to the emperor's two grandsons (Porticus Gai et Luci): it had two orders of arcades with pilasters and Doric semi-columns. The two upper floors of the basilica were totally rebuilt. Over the upper order an attic was built, decorated with vegetable elements and statues of barbarians.[citation needed]

The basilica was restored again in 22 AD. On its two-hundredth anniversary, the Basilica Aemilia was considered by Pliny to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Rome. It was a place for business and, in the porticus of Gaius and Lucius (the grandsons of Augustus) fronting the Roman Forum, there were the Tabernae Novae (New Shops). The main hall or court (100 m long and 29.9 m deep) was located behind the shops.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Pliny the Elder. "Natural History, 36.24".
  2. ^ Livy. "The History of Rome, 1.35".
  3. ^ Varro. De vita populi Romani, 2.12.
  4. ^ Livy. "The History of Rome, 40.51".
  5. ^ Cicero. "Lucullus, 70".
  6. ^ Platner, Samuel Ball; Ashby, Thomas. "A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  7. ^ Plautus. "Captivi, 4.2".
  8. ^ Plautus. "Curculio, 4.1".
  9. ^ a b c d Bauer, Heinrich (2005). "Basilica Fulvia". In Steinby, Eva Margareta (ed.). Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae (in Italian). Vol. 1. Rome: Edizioni Quasar. pp. 173–175. ISBN 9788871402734.
  10. ^ a b c Gorski, Gilbert J.; Packer, James E. (2015). The Roman Forum: A Reconstruction and Architectural Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 91–115.
  11. ^ Livy. "The History of Rome, 40.51".
  12. ^ Varro. On the Latin language, 6.2.5.
  13. ^ Pliny the Elder. "The Natural History, 35.4".
  14. ^ "RRC 419/3". numismatics.org. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  15. ^ Perkins, J. B. Ward (1954). "Constantine and the Origins of the Christian Basilica". Papers of the British School at Rome. 22: 69–90. ISSN 0068-2462.
  16. ^ Appian. "The Civil Wars, 2.4.26".
  17. ^ Plutarch. "Caesar, 29. 3".
  18. ^ Cicero. "Letters to Atticus, 4.16".
  19. ^ Cassius Dio. "Historiae Romanae, 49.42.2".
  20. ^ Cassius Dio. "Historiae Romanae, 54.24.2".
  21. ^ Cassius Dio. "Historiae Romanae, 54.24.3".
  22. ^ a b Claridge, Amanda; Toms, Judith; Cubberley, Tony (2010). Rome: an Oxford archaeological guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 69-71. ISBN 978-0-19-954683-1.
  23. ^ Kampen, Natalie. "Reliefs of the Basilica Aemilia: A Redating". Klio. 73: 448–458. doi:10.1524/klio.1991.73.73.448.
  24. ^ a b c d Bauer, Henrich (2005). "Basilica Paulli". In Steinby, Eva Margareta (ed.). Lexicon topographicum urbis Romae (in Italian). Vol. 1. Quasar. pp. 183–186. ISBN 9788871402734.
  25. ^ Stanford University. "Fragment 16e". Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project.
  26. ^ Kalas, Gregor (2015). The Restoration of the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity: Transforming Public Space. University of Texas Press. doi:10.7560/760783.10. ISBN 978-0-292-76078-3.
  27. ^ Lehmann, Phyllis Williams (1 March 1982). "The Basilica Aemilia and S. Biagio at Montepulciano". The Art Bulletin. 64 (1): 124–131. doi:10.1080/00043079.1982.10787954. ISSN 0004-3079.
  28. ^ "Barb.lat.4424". DigiVatLib. Vatican Library. p. 28r.
  29. ^ Platner, Samuel Ball (1911). The topography and monuments of ancient Rome. Getty Research Institute. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
  30. ^ Mozzati, Luca (2001). Rome: Computerized Reconstruction of Sites and Monuments. Milano, Italy: Mondadori Electa. ISBN 88-435-7790-5.

Further reading

[edit]
In English
[edit]
In Italian
[edit]
In German
[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Basilica_Aemilia&oldid=1295810844"