Overview
The Arch of Constantine was built in 315 AD to celebrate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the battle of Ponte Milvio three years earlier. At 25 metres high, it is the most impressive of the three triumphal arches in Rome today. The arch was built using salvaged materials and architectural elements taken from older monuments from the periods of Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. Thus, it offers a narrative of more than two centuries of Roman art history while celebrating Constantine's plan to restore the empire. In fact, all the faces of the emperors in the reliefs were remodelled in Constantine's likeness, with the nimbus to emphasise his imperial majesty.
It comprises three archways, the central one of which has abundant relief decoration on all sides. Above the smaller arches are Constantine's exploits during the propaganda against Maxentius. The roundels from the era of Hadrian, positioned further up, narrate scenes of hunting and sacrifice, while on the attic there are eight sculptures of Dacians, taken from the Forum of Trajan, flanking the dedicatory inscription and large panels dating from the time of Marcus Aurelius, depicting episodes from the Germanic war. The bases of the Corinthian columns are decorated with allegorical figures.
Nearby are the remains of the Meta Sudans, a monumental fountain built by Titus, rebuilt by Domitian and demolished in 1936. The name is due to its conical shape (meta) and the water that oozed out of it in the form of a sweat (sudans): it remained in use until the 5th century, when the Colosseum valley was silted up and the water outflow channels were blocked. The fountain was later demolished in the fascist era to build the Via dei Trionfi.
