The Curia and the Lapis Niger

The Curia Iulia rises out of the Argiletum, the ancient road which leads from the forum to the Suburra, and was home to the Senate. The large brick structure, still quite visible today, replaced the older building, which was destroyed by fire in 52 B.C. It was completed by Augustus in 29 B.C. In the eighth century. Gregory III transformed it into the Church of Sant’Adriano al Foro. In front of the ancient Curia is the so-called Lapis niger, the slab of black marble that is legendarily the burial place of Romulus.