Basilica of Maxentius - Ancient Rome in 3D - Detailed Virtual Tour- Now and Then views

The Basilica of Maxentius was the largest building in the Forum Romanum. Those colossal ruins still amaze us today. In this video, we will take a detailed look at what it was like during its time of glory. Let's go! The basilica was erected in the early 4th century and was part of Emperor Maxentius' grand program to restore and rebuild this most important and central part of the city. It can be said that Emperor Maxentius carried out the last major architectural changes in ancient Rome, which were in keeping with its ancient history. Basilica stands on the north side of Sacra Via, on land previously at least in part covered by Domitian Floria Peperataria. It stood on a platform of concrete raised a story above the Sacra Via at its west end. This was 100 meters long and 65 meters wide. It is the last of the great secular basilicas of Rome and still remains a great shell of brick-faced concrete, which owes more in design to the great central halls of the imperial baths than it does to classical basilicas. When we soon see the interior, we will notice how similar it is to the vast halls of the baths of Caracalla and Diocletian. The site for this enormous basilica was chosen in the very heart of Rome, on the Via Sacra, between the Colosseum and the Forum Romanum, and in close proximity to the Temple of Venus and Roma and the Forum of Peace. The building faced the street with its long southern facade. The massive basilica was visible from afar. Now we will approach it from the east, from the direction of the Colosseum. We are flying past the Colossus and will soon see the eastern facade of the basilica, from the eastern side. And now we will approach the Basilica of Maxentius from the west, from the Forum Romanum side. Leaving the Forum behind, we see the Via Sacra and the imposing southern facade of the basilica. Here we see the same southern facade, but this time from the hill. There was another entrance to the building here. It was previously believed that Constantine changed the design by adding a new entrance in the middle of the southern side. However, there are now strong arguments supporting the idea that this design was originally conceived by Emperor Maxentius, and Emperor Constantine's role in the reconstruction of the basilica was minimal. Here a flight of steps led up from the Via Sacra to a shallow porch with a series of porphyry columns framing three double doors. The basilica had two apses on the eastern and northern sides, both built under Maxentius. The northern apse was part of a complex system of retaining walls on this side, which were necessary to ensure the stability of the structure. Concluding our overview of the basilica's exterior, we will look at it from the side of the Arch of Titus. On the right, we see the Temple of Venus and Roma. Now we can see the Basilica of Maxentius along with the Via Sacra and the perspective of the Forum Romanum in the distance. Now we will move on to the interior. We enter the basilica through the entrance on the eastern side. As we walk along the main longitudinal axis of the basilica towards the western apse, we reach the place where a colossal statue was located. The western apse was vast, 20 meters in diameter, with a half-dome. This probably became the setting of a seated Colossus of Constantine, which was rebuilt from Maxentius and which was in his turn rebuilt from the 2nd-century emperor. Parts of this acrylic statue were found in 1486 and are now displayed in the courtyard of Palazzo dei Conservatori. Now we will enter via the staircase on the southern side, from the Via Sacra. As we move along the short transverse axis of the basilica, we find ourselves facing the northern apse. The basilica was richly and elegantly adorned. Expensive types of marble, gilding, stucco, and paint were used. We will now demonstrate this by using then and now comparisons. A central nave was 80 meters long, 25 meters wide, and it was flanked by side aisles. It was vaulted by a great cross-vaulted roof, which reached about 35 meters high, appeared supported on eight monolithic columns of Proconnesian marble. Side aisles divided into three aqueous sections, communicating with the nave along their hall with and with one another by generous archways. Big round-headed windows in two zones, six to a room, lit the chambers of the side aisles. The floor was paved with colored marble in a pattern similar to that of the Pantheon. Niches for statuary abound in the interior, and presumably the exterior was similarly embellished as well. The eastern entrance was to be from a short street leading off the Sacra Via. Here a single-story narthex, eight meters deep, preceded the building. This had five entrances to the basilica proper, three to the nave and one to each side aisle, but only two to the exterior on the east. Vaults and interior were finished with stucco, painted and gilded. The walls were covered with marble up to the springing of the vaults. Several expensive sorts of marble were used, including pavonosetta and giallo antico. Opposite the southern entrance, on the short axis, there is an apse on the north wall, somewhat lower than that in the west end, screened from the nave by a pair of columns which must have carried a straight epistyle. This was presumably a designated area for private court proceedings. Everything was vaulted in this basilica, and all the vaults were deeply covered in elaborate patterns of octagons, hexagons and lozenges. Triple-wide arched windows of the type familiar from bath complexes opened in the clerestory of the nave. The building was a triumph of engineering, the central nave having been the largest cross-vaulted hall in antiquity and supported by an ingenious system of flying buttresses. The basilica was a great masterpiece and has been admired by architects and artists throughout its history. It was exhaustively studied by the High Renaissance, and its impact on such architects as Bramante, Raphael, Antonio da Sangalo and Michelangelo was immense. Its influence on the design of the new Basilica of San Pietro is readily apparent. Basilica remained in use several centuries, even in the Middle Ages, but it had lost its proper designation then and was called The south aisle and nave probably collapsed in the earthquake of Pope Leo IV in 847. By the 16th century, the basilica already had its current appearance. Only one of the eight internal columns remained in place. It was moved to Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore in 1614. Thus, the ancient shaft of the column has survived to this day. The capital of the column is not ancient and was added during the reconstruction. And finally, here's a little bonus, a simulation of the basilica's destruction that I tested a few years ago in a game engine. One day I plan to create a new simulation with a complete 3D model and these appropriate effects. Thank you for watching this video. Please subscribe to our channel, to our publics and support our project if you want and can. Thank you, stay with us and we will relive the history together.