Alternate names: Basilica Paulli, Basilica Fulvia

Located on the Argiletum to the west and along the Sacra Via to the south, this building was considered one of Rome's most impressive public monuments. The facade on the Argiletum is illustrated in a sketch by Sangallo and shows a complex design with Doric columns on plinths. The entablature has metopes decorated with bucrania and paterae. The doors into the building have heavily cut frames. On the Forum side, it was fronted by a two-storey portico. On the ground floor were ten barrel-vaulted shops, two staircases to the upper floors, and three entrances into the basilica proper. At the east end, the last bay projected out from the portico. The second storey of the portico provided excellent views of the Forum and its plaza. The great basilica hall consisted of a large central nave with aisles running around all its four sides; there was a second aisle along the north side with cipollino columns. The other columns of the hall were africano with white marble bases and Corinthian capitals. Fragments can be seen today. The second storey had shorter columns, also of africano. The pavement was made of various colored marbles, fragments of which survive. Also extant are substantial fragments of the white marble frieze of the entablature of the first storey. Of a hypothetical 184 meters of the original frieze, fragments totalling ca. 21.2 meters still exist. They show scenes of early Roman history (or legend), including, for example, the abandonment of Romulus and Remus, the rape of the Sabine women, and the punishment of Tarpeia (the best preserved; see, in general, D. Arya in Roma. Romolo, Remo e la fondazione della citta', edited by A. Carandini and R. Cappelli [Milan 2000] 303-319). The frieze of the second storey had an anthemion.

Basilicas Basilica Iulia