Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Curia Hostilia

The Curia Hostilia (Lat., "Hostilian Court") was the favorite meeting place of the Roman Senate in the Forum Romanum, near the well of the Comitia. Tradition held that it was built by the third King of Rome, Tullus Hostilius, hence the name. The Curia Hostilia was the site of the irregular execution of the demagogue Lucius Appuleius Saturninus and his partisans, and burned down in 52 AC when a mob cremated the body of the demagogue Publius Clodius Pulcher inside it. It was renovated by Julius Caesar during his dictatorate, but his infamous murder in the meeting of the Senate on March 15, 44 AC, did not take place in the Curia Hostilia.