If the weather was cold and raining, or if the sun shone down too harshly in summer, it was better to be inside. That was what a basilica was for. It was a covered market, office block and courts of justice all rolled into one.
Basilicas were the biggest buildings in the Forum. The first was built by Julius Caesar and named for him. It was paid for from the booty collected during the war with Gaul (France).
