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Approach View

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Interior view

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QuickTimeVR

Object movie

2.0M

19.0M

QuickTimeVR

Panorama movie

500K

QuickTimeVR

Panorama movie

500K

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Reconstruction view

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Reconstruction view

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Reconstruction view

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1250 x 900

Still image

Reconstruction view

320 x 240

640 x 480

1250 x 900

Still image

Reconstruction view

320 x 240

640 x 480

1250 x 900

Still image

Reconstruction view

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1250 x 900

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View from Basilica Aemilia

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View from Basilica Iulia

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Curia Iulia
Senate house rebuilt by J. Caesar on site of earlier Curia Hostilia
Reconstructed state: Building as restored

Reconstruction issues

Building the Approach

Scientific Committee member C. Giuliani suggests that the statue bases in the Bartoli reconstruction should be removed and that the large round fountain seen in front of the Curia today was in use.

 (Level of certainty: high)

Building the Approach

Coarelli also proposes an alternative scheme for the entry stairs and aedicula over the door. While the stairs can be supported by marks on the face of the building, his scheme does not account for the beam holes in the front of the Curia.

 (Level of certainty: high)

Modifications suggested by review of the Scientific Committee

The plaster work on the exterior was refined with a crisper edge and a whiter color. The interior niche aediculae and columns were aligned, lightening the plaster in the upper panel and using a more elaborate coffer in the ceiling (gold, cf. the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore).

 (Level of certainty: medium)

Reconstructing from Analogy

The finishes of the interior upper sections of the Curia, which were destroyed during the building's reconstruction as a church, are based on typical Roman construction methods and materials as suggested by the scientific committee.

 (Level of certainty: medium)

Reconstruction Issues

Incomplete sketch as reference for reconstruction of panels. An incomplete sketch of the interior decorative marble panels of the Curia by the 16th century architect Giuliano da Sangallo (Claridge, p. 71, fig. 13) was used to reconstruct some of the middle level interior decorative marble panels. The Sangallo sketch shows only the decorative pattern, but neither the material nor the context in the interior decorative scheme.

 (Level of certainty: high)

Reconstruction Issues

The entry of the Curia floats above the piazza, requiring a reconstruction of the access way. A Roman coin depicting the front of the Curia and the design porch was used to reconstruct the entry (see Claridge, p. 71, fig.12).

 (Level of certainty: high)

Roofing Solution

The porch covering can be reconstructed as a pitched or a flat roof solution. The pitched was chosen over the flat, which means that there should be a channel on the paving to catch the water draining from the roof (cf. Adam, p. 236, fig. 547, for a generic illustration of the typical Roman catchment scheme). C. Giuliani also suggested that we examine the holes in the front wall of the curia over the porch to confirm the number and cadence of the porch columns.

 (Level of certainty: medium)

Original construction methods

Overall construction (Level of certainty: high)

1 Foundation (Level of certainty: high)

Blocks of travertine

2 Façade-main (Level of certainty: high)

2.1 Fabric of building (Level of certainty: high)

Brick with rubble infill

2.2 Surface covering (Level of certainty: high)

Ashlar pattern plaster work (with embedded marble chips) with crisp beveled, white color

2.3 Decorative elements (Level of certainty: high)

Stone corbels (dentil pattern) below eave. All other decorative elements were destroyed and have been reconstructed on the basis of Roman architectural norms.

3 Façade-side 2 (Level of certainty: high)

See main façade

4 Façade-side 3 (Level of certainty: high)

See main façade

5 Façade-side 4 (Level of certainty: high)

See main façade

5 Façade-side 4: (Level of certainty: high)

See main façade

6 Floor (Level of certainty: high)

6.1 Bedding (Level of certainty: high)

Mortar on concrete

6.2 Pavement (Level of certainty: high)

Along the sides of the room are three deep steps of pavonazzetto on which the chairs of the senators stood. At the north end of the hall is a podium of pavonazzetto. The centralÊfloor of the room is opus sectile with a decorative pattern based on a repeating motif made of giallo antico, pavonazzetto, and green and red porphyry.

7 Doorway(s) (Level of certainty: high)

Marble surround frame, bronze doors. Main door is preserved on San Giovanni in Laterano

8 Main level (Level of certainty: high)

8.1 Wall (Level of certainty: high)

Marble panels over brick stricture fixed with mortar

8.2 Base moulding (Level of certainty: high)

Existing white marble at lower level

8.3 Surface cover (Level of certainty: high)

Lower levels of the marble wall finishes in the Curia remain and were physically reconstructed after the Bartoli excavations. A sketch of the interior decorative marble panels of the Curia by the 16th century architect Giuliano da Sangallo shown in the publication by Amanda Claridge was used to reconstruct some of the middle level interior decorative marble panels. Upper level wall finishes are unknown and represented by a neutral color pallet.

8.4 Decorative elements (Level of certainty: high)

Existing at lower levels up to the lower portion of the niches (including fragments of decorative columns in Giallo Antico), based on Roman architectural norms at upper level

8.5 Window(s) (Level of certainty: medium)

Bronze grid frames of common Roman design

8.6 Ceiling (Level of certainty: medium)

8.6.1 Coffering (Level of certainty: medium)

Reconstruction: gilded wood coffers based on Roman Architectural norms

8.6.2 Rafters (Level of certainty: high)

Simple wood truss

9 Roof (Level of certainty: medium)

Clay tile