At the south end of the Forum were three buildings similar in plan and closely connected. In front they presented a common façade, the narrow spaces between them being entered by low doors. The building at the right ([Fig. 52], 3) was at the corner of the Forum, while the space separating the other two lay on a line dividing the Forum into two equal parts; east of the last building is the Strada delle Scuole.
Fig. 52.—Plan of the Municipal Buildings.
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- 1. Office of the duumvirs.
- 2. Hall of the city council.
- 3. Office of the aediles.
The three buildings were erected after the earthquake of 63, on the site of older buildings of the same character. In the walls of that furthest east (1), considerable remains of the earlier walls are embodied; in that near the corner the original pavement is preserved, and in the middle building there are traces of the original pavement. Previous to this rebuilding the inner series of columns belonging to the colonnade about the Forum had in part been removed and a barrier set up, by which the space in front of the middle building and that at the left could be shut off (indicated on the plan by broken lines). At the time of the eruption only the building at the left (1) was entirely finished. The others still lacked their decoration on both inner and outer walls.
These three spacious halls must have served the purposes of the city administration. The two at the right and the left are alike in having at the end opposite the entrance an apse large enough to accommodate one or more magistrates with their attendants; they were the official quarters of the aediles and the duumvirs, while the middle hall was the council chamber, curia, where the decurions met.
The middle room was obviously intended to be the most richly ornamented of the three, and was further distinguished from the others by the elevation of its floor, which was more than two feet above the pavement of the colonnade. In front of the entrance is a platform reached at either end by an approach hardly wide enough for two persons, thus suited for a select rather than a large attendance.
