Those of you who have already visited the Capitoline Museums will certainly have admired the fragment of the colossal statue of Emperor Constantine.
But inside where could a sculpture whose foot alone measured 2 metres have fitted? The answer is simple: in the apse of a 35 metre high building, the Basilica of Maxentius.
First started in 306 A.D. by Maxentius and completed by Constantine, the basilica measured 100 by 65 metres and had a 80 metre long central nave whose roof rested on 8 marble columns. Sadly only the northern nave has survived the test of time, whose lacunar vaults provided inspiration for Renaissance architects.
Clivo di Venere Felice
