The term for this building is from the Greek word meaning "place of the king," he from whom was handed down all judgement and, hopefully, justice. In Roman cities, the basilica was the town hall and the courthouse, where rhetors pleaded cases before a buzzing assembly.

The basilica of Herculaneum was damaged or entirely destroyed in an earthquake sixteen years before the eruption, and was rebuilt by Proconsul Marcus Nonius Balbus. Statues of his family adorn the halls; equestrian statues of himself and his son are mounted just beyond the portals; and a bronze quadriga, a magnificent four-hourse chariot driven by a deified emperor and adorned with images of the great heroes of Greece and Rome, rides forth from the top of the facade.

Since the archaeological site has only been partially explored through narrow tunnels snaking into the hard volcanic rock, the size, form, and decorations of the basilica can only be guessed. Several astonishingly masterful frescoes have been recovered from the far apses of the hall. The decorations here are based on those found in the sumptuous houses of the upper class.

Christianity adapted the form of the basilica for early churches, and the term is still in use today.

From within the city, you will be able to go to the Basilica via a shortcut to the north of the Assembly Hall on the Decumanus Maximus.

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