Curia

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.