The Curia of ancient Rome was the place where the Senate met to discuss the making of laws and take decisions about the affairs of the Republic. The original Curia building was built, according to legend, by the king Tullus Hostilius in the Forum Romanum at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. The building was later demolished to make way for a more imposing structure.

The Roman Catholic Church retains an assembly called the Roman Curia although its function is very different from the Roman Curia of the 1st Century BC.