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.