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Between Fori and Colosseo – Arco di Costantino (Constantine’s Arch)

Posted on 13 April 2010

Arco di Costantino is the most magnificent of the Triumphal Arches visible in Rome, however it is the one signing the beginning of Rome’s decadence in favour of Costantinopoli.
We often talked about organized tours around Rome and we mentioned various Triumphal Arches you may see in the city. Now we would like to explain you something about these monuments, their funtion and history, and we will describe today one of the most famous in Rome, Constantine’s Arch – Arco di Costantino.
Arco di Costantino is located exactly where the sacred road finished, in the middle between the majestic Colosseo and Fori Imperiali, signing the border between them.
This is the most magnificent of the Triumphal Arches still visible in Rome and is the biggest between the three Arches in the city, with 25 mt height. However, its history isn’t between the most glorious ones. This Arch was built in 313 D.C. to celebrate Emperor Constantine’s victory against Massenzio in a period of great decline where Constantinople was outperforming the old and worn-out capital of the Empire, which had neither wealth nor former glory. For this reason, the building of this Arch was carried out using recycled materials. In fact, the marble came from other ancient monuments, even statues and decorations that can be seen on the Arch are from pre-existing monuments. This creates a very strange effect, with a strange mix of styles all related to the roman architecture, but coming from different ages. One of the biggest curiosities is related to some friezes where it’s represented Marco Aurelio in some of his battles instead of Costantino. To be noted that the Arch has four friezes attributable entirely to Costantino and his war against Massenzio.
There is no entrance fee to visit the Arch and it’s almost a must, as we already emphasized, in the journey between Colosseo and Roman Forum and vice versa, for this reason we strongly suggest you linger a few minutes to observe the peculiarities that this old commemorative monument has to offer to its visitors.