Basilica Aemilia

The Basilica Aemilia (Italian: Basilica Emilia) or the Basilica Paulli, was a civil basilica in the Roman Forum. It was initially constructed by Lucius Aemilius Paullus, and was completed by his son Paullus Aemilius Lepidus in 33 BCE. Under Augustus, it was reconstructed in 22 CE and was described by Pliny to be among the most beautiful examples of Roman architecture.^[1] Today on the site, only fragments of the floorplan and colonnade remain, but a continuous sculptural frieze from the lower entablature was partially reconstructed and is preserved inside the neighboring Curia Julia.

Basilica Aemilia

Computer generated reconstruction of the basilica as it appeared under Augustus
Basilica Aemilia Shown in ancient Rome
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location	Regio IV Templum Pacis
Coordinates	41°53′33″N 12°29′10″E
Type	Basilica
History
Builder	Marcus Fulvius Nobilior
Founded	179 BC

History

Pre-existing structures

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 of the Forum and their 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] is it certain that the argentariae novae occupied the northern side of the Forum, putting 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 a basilica in proximity to the tabernae in the Forum^[7] and the nearby Shrine of Venus Cloacina the Forum,^[8] leading scholars to believe that the first basilica on this site may have been built after the fire of 210 BCE,^[9] possibly in 195-191.^[10] Archaeologists have uncovered the original foundations from this basilica made of Monteverde tuff, and evidence of a northeast portico facing the Forum Piscarium.^[9]

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] which is the first reference to the basilica by these names.^[9] The contribution of the Aemilia gens 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 of the shields said to have been placed 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 facade. The groundbreaking architectural development 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 contrasted greatly with the hypostyle layout of the Greek stoai that the earliest Roman basilicas were modeled after, where columns dominated the interior space.^[15] Only a portion of the foundations that can be viewed underneath a canopy on the northwest end of the site.^[9]

Basilica Aemilia, as seen today.

Basilica Aemilia/Paulli

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 possibly bribed the Paullus family by gifting 1,500 talents towards 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 Basilica Fulvia The basilica was completed by 34 BCE by Paullus's son, Paullus Aemilius Lepidus,^[18] but a fire in 14 BCE destroyed much of the structure.^[19] It was rebuilt under Augustus, who dedicated the new edifice to the Aemilia gens.^[20]

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, with a restoration in 22 CE, the addition of temples in the portico throughout the 2nd and 3rd centuries.^[21] Part of the floorplan of the basilica can be seen on a small fragment of the Forma Urbis Romae, showing the tabernae on the SW, and an interior colonnade with the inscription "[B]ASILIC[A]."^[22] The basilica was ultimately destroyed during the sack of Rome in 410 CE by Alaric I and his Visigoth army, as evinced by visible coins burned into the columns still on the site today. While the tabernae remained in use until the 6th century, the site remained in a state of disrepair throughout the early Middle Ages.^[21] Renaissance architects used the basilica's raw building materials as spolia, at the Palazzo Torlonia^[21] and San Biagio in Montepulciano.^[23] Giuliano da Sangallo's drawing from 1480 depicts the Basilica Aemilia in a ruinous state.^[24]

Giacomo Boni was the first archaeologist to excavate the site from 1898 to 1914, uncovering the tabernae, portico, and basilica. Alfonso Bartoli continued to excavate from 1922 to 1940. 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, and in the 21st century, new work by Klaus Freyberger, Christine Etel, and Johannes Lipps continue to uncover more information about the basilica and its function.

Description

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.^[25] 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]}

The wooden roof, the Tabernae as well as the facade of the basilica were completely destroyed by fire when Rome was sacked by Alaric the Visigoth in 410 AD. On the colored marble floor one still can see the green stains of bronze coins from the early fifth century that melted in the fire.^[25] The basilica was rebuilt after the fire by adding a new floor while the central part of the front porch was replaced by a portico in c.420 with columns of pink granite on bases, much more dense than the pillars of the porch above (three of these columns were rebuilt after the excavations and are still on the east side toward the temple of Antoninus and Faustina). An earthquake in 847 caused the final collapse of the remaining structure. The remains were used as building material. Conspicuous remains of the basilica could still be seen in the Renaissance, they were however used for the Palazzo Giraud Torlonia.^{[citation needed]}