Plain, grim-looking and oddly tall for its size, the Senate House (Curia) *** once sat at the heart of the Roman state. I wonder how many modern-day visitors to the Forum pass by without realising its importance. While the building that we see today dates from the Forum's reconstruction after a fire in 283 CE, it apparently resembles an earlier structure dating back to the time of Augustus (29 BCE). A lot of Roman history happened here. And if you can get inside, which is not always guaranteed, it is very much worth a visit.
Brief Historical Background
The present Curia building is a replacement for the Curia Julia, a Senate House planned by Julius Caesar and completed under Augustus in 29 BCE. Caesar's construction, which sat between his own new forum (some of which still survives) and the main Forum Romanum, replaced earlier buildings that nearby had been used for meetings of the Republican Senate, notably the Curia Hostilia the site of which now sits under the nearby church of SS Luca & Martina (at the back of the photo at the top of this post). The Senate also met elsewhere in the city, with Caesar's assassination taking place after a meeting at the Curia of Pompey in the square now called the Largo Argentina.
A coin of Augustus (29-27 BCE) (now in the British Museum) shows a building that may well represent the Curia Julia. While the proportions are a bit wonky, the combination of a single door, three front-facing windows and a pediment looks pretty convincing to me, although the front colonnade is now missing. Compare the coin's image with my photo of the building's facade (below). If the coin does show the Curia then it is likely that statues of soldiers stood on the corners of the roof with the whole edifice being topped by a winged victory atop a globe. The building's exterior was probably faced with ashlar masonry rather than the bricks that we see now.
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| Facade of the Senate House (Curia) facing the Roman Forum |
Although the Senate's role became greatly diminished in the age of the emperors, its meetings still took place here until the fall of the western empire in the 5th century. Following a catastrophic fire in 283 CE (not an unusual occurrence in the ancient city), which raged along the Via Sacra destroying many buildings in and around the Forum, the Senate House was rebuilt under the emperor Diocletian (284-305 CE). But with the end of Roman rule, the building lay abandoned until it was converted into a church (S Adriano al Foro) by Pope Honorius I around 630 CE. It remained in this use, with many additions and alterations including a substantial remodelling into the Baroque style, until the 1930s.
What we see today is an attempt to restore the structure to the appearance of Diocletian's rebuild. The building was 'rediscovered' as the Curia in the late 1800s, but its restoration took place in the 1930s under the fascist rule of Mussolini, who later held a grandiose ceremony in the renovated building. Like many of Rome's ancient buildings (such as Trajan's Markets) all later additions and alterations were removed, which (to put it mildly) is an approach unlikely to find favour today. In the case of the Senate House large parts of the front and rear elevations were rebuilt with new bricks, blocking up openings associated with the church and reopening the original windows. The extent of the remodelling can be appreciated in part by observing the differences in brickwork on the present elevations (see photo above). Photographs taken at the time of the excavations and restorations, some of which are included in Katherine Bogan's thesis, show these changes in stark detail.
I'm in two minds about all of this. On the one hand, the architectural elements that were removed were themselves of historical importance - both in their own right and as part of the building's story in the passage of time. A clear choice was made (unsurprisingly, given the political context of Italy in the 1930s) to favour ancient Rome over subsequent periods of the city's history. This is basically historical vandalism, as much of the building's wider context and interest was destroyed.
However, and apologies if this is archaeological heresy, it is also something of a thrill to see buildings like this in a form that would be (approximately) recognisable to the people of ancient Rome. Standing on the floor of the Senate House (which is thankfully of Roman date - see below) provides a connection with the past that is more tangible than I have experienced inside less 'restored' monuments like the Pantheon where the Baroque design generally reigns supreme. There are no easy answers here; my personal preference is to see something of the complexity of a site's history in order to understand its full story, but it is difficult to deny the power of some of Rome's 1930s reconstructions. The debate will no doubt continue.
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| Location of the Senate House (Curia) (arrowed) in the Roman Forum |
Location & Access
The Senate House is on the eastern side of the Roman Forum between the sparse remains of the Basilica Paulli (Aemelia) and the church of SS Luca & Martina, which stands on a higher level. It is located within the main Forum and Palatine Hill site (part of the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo PArCo), but entrance to the building is not included with the basic admission price. It is one of a number of monuments (called the SUPER sites) that can only be visited with certain ticketing options. If you are visiting the Forum and Palatine Hill then I would strongly recommend that you seek one of these out: the SUPER sites also include the House of Augustus, Temple of the Divus Romulus, Church of Santa Maria Antiqua and more. At all of these locations, we saw visitors without the correct tickets being turned away. Unfortunately, having that ticket doesn't guarantee that all of the SUPER sites will be open on the day of your visit and it is possible that the Senate House will be closed. Information about opening times is on the PArCo website.
Given how long the queues can be at the Forum for day entry tickets, I would also recommend that you buy them in advance, although the booking website (link here) is not very user-friendly.
Date of my Visit
The photographs in this blog post date from my visit in 2026.
Inside the Senate House
At the time of my visit, entry to the Senate House was by one of the two doors at the rear of the building facing towards the Forum of Julius Caesar. Work was taking place in front of the building, which was closed off by fencing - a not uncommon experience at Italy's archaeological sites! This open area, known as the Comitium, has a long history of political gatherings, serving a similar role in relation to the earlier Curia Hostilia (see above). The bronze doors (below) of the Senate House that gave access to the Comitium are replicas; the originals, which dated at least to the reign of Domitian (81-96 CE), were moved in the 17th century by order of Pope Alexander VII and are now housed in the basilica of St John Lateran.
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| Senate House (Curia) interior looking south-west showing the (replica) bronze doors to the Comitium, the balustrades (plutei) and part of the opus sectile floor. |
Once inside the building the first thing that strikes you is its height - just over 31 metres to the roof. The internal walls are bare and austere, showing the ghosts of now blocked-up windows, but would have been decorated with marble veneer to about two-thirds height with the rest probable covered with painted stucco. A small marble panel next to the north-eastern door gives an idea of what some of the internal decoration might have looked like. The ceiling, which was added in the 1930s restoration, would originally have been gilded.
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| Senate House (Curia) - interior |
Fortunately, the original patterned marble floor (below) has been preserved. This is opus sectile, made from individually cut pieces of marble arranged to form a geometric pattern. Generally found in public buildings or particularly high status dwellings, opus sectile became more popular from the 2nd century CE onwards. This floor seems to date from the Diocletian restoration.
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| Senate House (Curia) - detail of opus sectile marble floor |
Next to the entrance door stands a purple-red headless statue of a toga-clad figure (below) - probably the emperor Hadrian or Trajan. This is made from porphyry, a relatively scarce igneous rock that was usually reserved for imperial use.
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| Senate House (Curia) - porphyry statue of an emperor |
Some better-known carvings are sited at the opposite end of the hall; these are two marble balustrades or parapets, known as the Plutei of Trajan or the Anaglypha Panels, that would originally have been mounted on plinths in the square in front of the building. On the back of each balustrade is a relief showing the same scene of three animals (a pig, ram and bull) being led to sacrifice (below).
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| Plutei of Trajan - sacrificial animals |
The other sides of the balustrades show scenes from the Roman Forum; buildings in the background can clearly be identified, which is more than can be said for the emperor as his head is missing. Suggestions range from Domitian through to Marcus Aurelius. Modern interpretations of the scenes vary. The first balustrade, known as the Audience Panel, shows somebody - probably the emperor - standing on the Rostra (denoted by the presence of a ship's prow) in front of the Temple of Divus Julius, with the Arch of Augustus and Temple of Castor in the background. A crowd has gathered.
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| Plutei of Trajan - the emperor (probably) addresses a crowd |
At the opposite end of the relief, a seated figure on a raised podium (probably also the emperor) is being approached by a woman and child (below).
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| Plutei of Trajan - seated figure |
The other balustrade, known as the Procession Panel, shows a line of porters carrying tablets for ceremonial burning. This may commemorate the forgiveness of debts during Hadrian's early reign.
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| Plutei of Trajan - burning of the debt records |
One overall interpretation of these images (from Elizabeth Wolfram Thill's paper - reference below) is that by portraying scenes of the emperor peacefully carrying out his role in the Roman Forum, the Senate is making a rather pointed comment about Hadrian's enthusiasm for undertaking projects elsewhere - such as his many building works in Athens (he was a big fan of that city) or - closer to home for us - the construction of a certain Wall. It's only a theory, but it sounds plausible.
That concludes our short tour of the Senate House. But before leaving the building it is worth finding a seat and taking some time to appreciate the scale and ambience of the hall, as well the sheer weight of history that seems to pervade this extraordinary building.
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| Senate House (Curia) - interior looking north-east |
References
Bogen, Katharine (2023) 'The Curia Julia: Its History, Materials, Use, and Preservation through the Centuries.' (University of Mary Washington student thesis) - link
Bond, Sarah E.. (2015) 'Curial Communiqué: Memory, Propaganda, and the Roman Senate House.' Aspects of Ancient Institutions and Geography. Studies in honor of Richard J. A. Talbert. pp. 84-102. -link
Canter, Howard V. (1932) 'Conflagrations in ancient Rome.' The Classical Journal 27(4) pp. 270-288. - link
Claridge, Amanda (2010) Rome - An Oxford Archaeological Guide (2nd edition). Oxford: OUP (an essential reference)
Ulrich, Roger B. (1993) 'Julius Caesar and the creation of the Forum Iulium.' American Journal of Archaeology 97 (1) pp. 49-80. - link
Wolfram Thill, Elizabeth (2022) 'Pushing Back Against the Provinces: The Anaglypha Panels in Rome' - link
(See also the general References page of this blog).
Text and photographs (c) Mike Hetherington. Visits to sites described in this blog are at your own risk.
