A Copy of the Colossus of Constantine

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A Copy of the Colossus of Constantine

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A modern copy of an ancient thirteen-metre-high marble and bronze statue of Constantine the Great (r. 306-37), now stands in the garden of the Villa Caffarelli. 

The original statue of Rome's first Christian emperor would once have stood in the Basilica of Maxentius, in the Forum. The marble head and a few other fragments were unearthed in the basilica at the end of the 15th century and are now on display in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, which is part of the 
Capitoline Museums.  

'Behold this foot and gauge the greatness of the empire of Rome' ('PEDEM VIDE ET ROMANAE REI MAGNITVDINEM METIRE'), so proclaims the inscription on the pedestal that supports the right foot. The inscription, which dates back to the 16th century, wrongly attributes the foot to a colossal statue of Apollo from Apollonia, which, according to Pliny the Elder, was transported to Rome by Marcus Licinius Lucullus, following a military campaign in Thrace. 

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The Surviving Fragments of the Statue of Constantine

Left Foot

Right Foot