The Basilica Aemilia, also known as the Basilica Paulli,. It has multiple names for a good reason - it fell into decay and was repaired several times in Roman history, each time gaining a new name. Prior to being a basilica it was a marketplace for butchers (around 500 B.C.), then for bankers (around 400 B.C.). The first basilica on this site was built in 179 B.C., by the censors Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Marcus Fulvius Nobilior. It was rebuilt in 54 B.C. by L. Aemilius Paullus, whom Cicero criticized for using salvage (such as the columns and floors) of the previous building in his reconstruction. It was rebuilt again in 22 A.D., at which time it was called one of the most beautiful buildings in Rome.

One can imagine why this may have been the case. The columns were made of natural concretions of pink and gray marble from Africa. These columns originally had Corinthian capitals, and were decorated with friezes depicting Roman history.

The floors were also marble. The brick around this piece of floor was probably an early attempt at preserving the ruins of this structure, which was first excavated in the 1800's.

The Basilica was sacked in 410 A.D. by the Visigoths.

Much of what remained of the Basilica was co-opted for re-use in the building of the Giraud-Torlonia Palace in the Renaissance. Only a few broken columns and the remains of the marble floor mark the place of a building once considered grand enough to be commemorated on a coin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DisegnoMonetaBasilicaEmiliaRoma.gif