Basilica Porcia
Location of the Basilica Porcia on a map of ancient Rome
The basilica Porcia was the first civil basilica built in ancient Rome. It was built by order of Marcus Porcius Cato in 184 BC as censor and is named after him. He built it as a space for administering laws and for merchants to meet, against some opposition. It stood to the west of the Curia, on land bought by Cato and previously occupied by shops and private houses. Many trials were held inside the basilica.
It was destroyed during the funeral of Publius Clodius Pulcher in 52 BC when the fire from his funeral pyre spread to the front of the Curia and spread to the basilica and other neighbouring buildings. The ruins were probably flattened later that year to build a new building on the site.
Bibliography
- Filippo Coarelli, Guida archeologica di Roma, Verona, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1984.
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