A
curia, plural
curiae, is an
assembly,
council, or
court, in which public, official, or religious issues are discussed and decided. In
ancient Rome, the populace was divided into 30 curiae, which met in order to confirm the election of
magistrates, witness the installation of
priests, the making of
wills, and
adoptions. Lesser curiae existed for other purposes. The word
curia also came to denote the places of assembly, especially the
senate. Similar institutions existed in other towns and cities of Italy. In medieval times, a king's council was often referred to as a
curia. Today, the most famous curia is the
Curia of the
Roman Catholic Church which assists the Roman Pontiff in the
hierarchical government of the Church.
