Introduction to Basilica: Basilica is a form of public building in ancient Rome. The word comes from Greek and its original meaning is "the hall of the king". It refers to a court or large shopping mall in a metropolitan area. The luxurious building is characterized by a rectangular plane with a colonnade on the outside. The main entrance is on the long side and there are transepts on the short side. It uses strip arches as the roof. Later church buildings originated from Basilica, but the main entrance was moved to the short side.
The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine is located on the north side of the square. It was started in 308 by Emperor Maxentius and completed in 312 by Constantine I after defeating him at the Battle of Milvi Bridge. After Maxentius is the largest building in the Roman Forum.
The Basilica Julia was originally a large, richly decorated public building that was used for meetings and other official functions in the early years of the Roman Empire. The building is now just a rectangular area, about a meter above the ground, with matted stones lying within its limits and a row of marble steps along the side facing the holy way.