There are two important political buildings defining two sides of this assembly area and still clearly visible today: on the side of the Curia, you can see the Basilica Emilia and on the opposite side the Basilica Giulia. A basilica is a rectangular building with or without perimeter walls, divided into 2 or more naves with a colonnade or by pillars

The central nave is higher than the others and has an upper row of columns and window openings that let in light. This type of building was really a kind of covered piazza and many outdoor activities would have been transferred inside during periods of bad weather: court cases and preliminary hearings, administrative affairs, financial operations, commercial transactions, business and other appointments. By adapting them to their own rituals, Christian basilicas were modeled on these pagan buildings.