Basilica Julia
Basilica Julia
4
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Campitelli
How to get there
- Fori Imperiali-Colosseo • 7 min walk
- Colosseo • 7 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
55 reviews
Excellent
13
Very good
24
Average
15
Poor
3
Terrible
0
Mairwen1
United Kingdom11,493 contributions
Jun 2022
This was one of Julius Caesar’s buildings which is what makes it interesting because in reality, there’s little left to look at.
All you see now are some patchy marble paving, some steps and the ruined rows of column stumps in a roughly rectangular area the middle of the Roman Forum. It's pretty much razed to ground level. You need a lot of imagination to even begin to visualise the original basilica. Googling a few reconstructed images helped us but otherwise we’d have been lost.
At first we assumed that the basilica was a religious temple but in fact ancient Roman basilicas had nothing to do with religion at all and were public buildings, used for civil law courts, government offices, finance and shops. The Centumviri or Court of the Hundred also worked from here, dealing mainly with land and property claims and inheritance issues.
Work began in 54BC by Julius Caesar but was not finally completed until 8 BC and shortly afterwards was rebuilt following a fire. The fire was nothing compared to the damage done when the Visigoths sacked Rome. Later in the middle ages, all of the marble and valuable stone was stripped from the building and used elsewhere. This wasn’t really vandalism but instead, was a kind of ancient up-cycling and was common practice at the time.
ENTRY: It is worth noting that you cannot buy a separate entry to the forum. It is included in the combo Colosseum/Roman Forum ticket and is therefore essential to book ahead.
All you see now are some patchy marble paving, some steps and the ruined rows of column stumps in a roughly rectangular area the middle of the Roman Forum. It's pretty much razed to ground level. You need a lot of imagination to even begin to visualise the original basilica. Googling a few reconstructed images helped us but otherwise we’d have been lost.
At first we assumed that the basilica was a religious temple but in fact ancient Roman basilicas had nothing to do with religion at all and were public buildings, used for civil law courts, government offices, finance and shops. The Centumviri or Court of the Hundred also worked from here, dealing mainly with land and property claims and inheritance issues.
Work began in 54BC by Julius Caesar but was not finally completed until 8 BC and shortly afterwards was rebuilt following a fire. The fire was nothing compared to the damage done when the Visigoths sacked Rome. Later in the middle ages, all of the marble and valuable stone was stripped from the building and used elsewhere. This wasn’t really vandalism but instead, was a kind of ancient up-cycling and was common practice at the time.
ENTRY: It is worth noting that you cannot buy a separate entry to the forum. It is included in the combo Colosseum/Roman Forum ticket and is therefore essential to book ahead.
Written 22 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dimitris L
Sydney, Australia51,089 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
Basilica Julia is what remains of the building that Julius Caesar started to build in 46BC. His tenure was cut short by his assassins, so his nephew, and adopted son and successor Octavian, later known as Augustus, completed the whole thing and named it in honour of his adopted father. The Basilica was a huge complex, which housed law courts, shops, public offices and other facilities. It was a very important centre. Today not much remains, except for a few columns and other bits, and of course its great history.
Written 30 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Spanish Steps Apartment
Rome, Italy34,587 contributions
Oct 2016 • Couples
The Basilica Julia was a giant building in the Roman Forum (one of several) used for commerce, business matters, etc. Little remains today, mostly foundations and steps. Important to understand these early basilicas were important meeting places where business took place and law was discussed. It would be helpful if there was better signage in the Roman Forum, including depictions of what these buildings and monuments once looked like.
Written 4 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FTMDave
Adria, Italy7,709 contributions
Jun 2021
A Roman civic building which held courts, banks and government offices in its day. Part of the Roman Forum.
Written 5 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SoCalOregonian
Murrieta, CA10,355 contributions
Apr 2019
This Basilica occupies the space of the oldest basilicas the Sempronia built in 170BC. This basilica was constructed starting in 54BC. It had been rebuilt many times due to fire damage. The building consisted of a large central hall and surrounded by 2 porticos on all sides. It was used for meetings and judicial proceedings. Not much remains today just the outline of the central hall and the surrounding porticos.
Written 30 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nellielim
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia4,011 contributions
Oct 2018 • Family
The Basilica Julia is located in the Roman Forum and housed the courts of law, banking and government offices. It was a favourite meeting ground in ancient Rome with shops and bustling with people and noise. Today what remains are mainly foundations, floors, a few arches and a single column.
Written 26 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gureni L
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates1,568 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
The Basilica Julia was a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the early Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated. Its construction was begun by Julius Caesar but he was assassinated before it was finished. It was then Augustus who completed its construction.
Written 25 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SoCalOregonian
Murrieta, CA10,355 contributions
Mar 2018 • Couples
Gaius Julius Caesar began this civic basilica in 54BC at the same time as the new forum of Caesar. It was home to the governmental offices, banks and courts of the day. It burned in 12 BC, rebuilt, and dedicated to Gaius and Lucius, but the old name persisted. It was rebuilt again, but due to looting little remains of the ancient building.
Written 15 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
daffystjob
Manchester, UK808 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
This was another huge ancient basilica lost to time, as the path takes you around the broken skeleton of the cathedral, it makes you realise the size it was. This was not a little church, this was a sizeable building which would have been impressive in it's time no doubt. To some people, ruins are ruins, and they prefer to see a building still standing, I love ruins, a building holding on to its foundations, just brilliant!!
Written 19 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CodyMav
Gold Coast, Australia27,270 contributions
Feb 2017 • Solo
Once you are standing at this spot, you can make out most of the perimiter, otherwise there is little left of this Basilica for Caesar
Written 9 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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