the Curia he Curia Julia in its present form dates from 300 AD after it had been burnt down in AD 283. The small building next to the Curia was used as a small archive. The Curia and the archive were connected by some kind of gallery at the front. The Curia was burnt down a total number of four times in its history. The first Curia, the Curia Hostilia - named after its founder Tullus Hostilius - was burnt down in 80 BC, rebuilt by Sulla, but shortly afterward was in flames again. Then Caesar started the initiative of building a new Curia, the Curia Julia. Caesar belonged to the divine stock of Julius. Because the Curia wasn't finished at Caesar's death August took on the task of completing the work. Still the flames did their job again, in 64 AD under Nero and once again in 283 AD. In the dimensions of the Curia the prescriptions of Vitruvius were used. It is 27 meters long, 18 meters wide and its height is 22½ meters. So its width equals 2/3 of its length and its height is equal to half of the sum of its length and width. In the Curia the senators of Rome had their meetings. About two hundred senators could meet in the Curia, although there were more than two hundred senators. Not all senators were present at the meetings however. The senators were seated on rows of seats on the long sides of the Curia. Nowadays the so-called 'plutei' of Trajan are set up in the Curia. They are fragments of the balustrade of the speaking platform in front of the Curia. On the wall you can see an image of a 'suovetaurile', a ceremonial offering during which a swine (sus), a sheep (ovis) and a bull (taurus) were sacrificed. The bronze doors of the Curia are copies of the original doors, which found their way to Christian places of worship, just like many other bits and pieces of ancient buildings. The doors were used for the entrance of the church of St. John Lateran. The Curia today. In front of the Curia is the Comitium