Forum Romanum, Rome. Basilica Julia to the Temple of Saturn, churches of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami and the Arch of Septimius Severus in front of Santi Luca e Martina, the Column of Phocas in front of the Curia Julia.

Forum Romanum, Rome. View from the south-western corner of the Basilica Julia to the Temple of Saturn, churches of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami and the Arch of Septimius Severus in front of Santi Luca e Martina, the Column of Phocas in front of the Curia Julia, and several ruins of columns and foundations of the Basilica Julia.

The Basilica Julia (Italian: Basilica Giulia) 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. What is left from its classical period are mostly foundations, floors, a small back corner wall with a few arches that are part of both the original building and later Imperial reconstructions and a single column from its first building phase.

The Basilica Julia was built on the site of the earlier Basilica Sempronia (170 BC) along the south side of the Forum, opposite the Basilica Aemilia. It was initially dedicated in 46 BC by Julius Caesar, with building costs paid from the spoils of the Gallic War, and was completed by Augustus, who named the building after his adoptive father. The building burned shortly after its completion, but was repaired and rededicated in 12 AD. The Basilica was again reconstructed by the Emperor Diocletian after the fire of 283 AD.
The Basilica Julia was partially destroyed in 410 AD. when the Visigoths sacked Rome and the site slowly fell into ruin over the centuries. Part of the remains of the basilica was converted into a church in the 7th or 8th century. The building consists now only of a rectangular area, levelled off and raised about one metre above ground level, with jumbled blocks of stone lying within its area. A row of marble steps runs full length along the side of the basilica facing the Via Sacra, and there is also access from a taller flight of steps (the ground being lower here) at the end of the basilica facing the Temple of Castor and Pollux.

It was the favorite meeting place of the Roman people. The Basilica housed the civil law courts and tabernae (shops), and provided space for government offices and banking. In the 1st century, it also was used for sessions of the Centumviri (Court of the Hundred), who presided over matters of inheritance.

more on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Julia , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum , https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Map_of_downtown_Rome_during_the_Roman_Empire_large.png http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/reconstructions/ForumRomanum_1