Curia

Curia

The Curia Julia, constructed in 29 BCE in the Forum Romanum in Rome.
The Curia Julia, constructed in 29 BCE in the Forum Romanum in Rome.

The curia (plural: curiae) was a building that, in Rome, housed the Senate, and in other Roman cities would be a meeting place for the town council or voting assembly. The name derives from the council itself, called the curia, which in turn seems to derive from the Latin term coviria, a compound of co, meaning together, and vir, meaning man; men acting or assembling together.