CONSTANTINE THEODORE - GUIDE TO THE EXHIBITION
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CONSTANTINE
andTHEODORE
AQUILEIA IN THE 4TH CENTURY
GUIDE
TO THE
EXHIBITION
english
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AQUILEIA IN THE 4TH CENTURY
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PIANO TERRA 0 1 2 mlOn the road to Aquileia. 1 Why an exhibit on Constantine in Aquileia? This is a legitimate question, given that 2013 has been a year of many a celebration, among which the prestigious exhibits in Milan and Rome, of the famous though much debated “Edict of Milan” of 313AD. Aquileia has a number of good reasons to host such an event. Firstly, the agreements between Constantine and Licinius on freedom of religion were the starting point for the construction of one of the first Christian buildings we know of. Furthermore, because we know the promoter of this complex where, inside the Basilica, marvellous mosaics and structural remains have survived to this day. Lastly, because there is evidence of the Emperor’s dedication to the city in literary sources, but also in important urban and monumental development. Constantine and Theodore are the protagonists of what has been rightly defined “the urban revolution” of Aquileia in Late Antiquity. This revolution actually started in the Tetrarchic period and in a matter of decades radically transformed the city thanks to: the building of new city walls; the planning and creation of the western quarter where evidence of imperial presence is plenty; the reinforcement of service structures; the setting up of the first episcopal structure, at first in the outskirts but which soon became a new urban aggregation point in the city. After the agreements in Milan followed major spiritual and cultural transformations which influenced the city as a whole and made Aquileia a centre from which Christianity spread across nearby regions. 2 On the road to Aquileia. The Aquileia-Emona road and the “nest” of Villesse milestones In Late Antiquity, the road that connected Aquileia to Iulia Emona (present-day Ljubljana) had a decisive strategic and military role. It was part of the itinerary that reached the area around the Danube and Balkan areas all the way from Gaul across northern Italy and the Ad Prium crossing (Hrušica, in Slovenia). Throughout the 4th century emperors, their entourage, and the army travelled along this road from and to the East. An extraordinary discovery has recently confirmed the importance of the road. In Villesse, in the gravel bed of the river Torre, nine milestones and a base were discovered. Originally, they were set up to form a “nest”, or a compact and single unit aside the road. The inscriptions, often on milestones already present on the site, make mention of the emperors Constantius Chlorus and Galerius (305-306), Constantine (312/315-324), the Crispus Cesaers, Constantine II and Liciniaus Licinius (317?), the Cesaers Constantine II and Constans (326?), Julian (361-362), Jovian (363-364), Valentinian I and Valens (364-367), Valentinian II, Theodosius and Arcadius (383-392). At the end of the Empire similar units of milestones located at a topographically significant point along the Aquileia-Iulia Emona road, six miles away from the northern Adriatic city, were a way for the emperor to attract consensus or more or less authentic loyalty to him among the local community.
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Life in Aquileia in the 4th century
3 Private residences in Aquileia in the 4th century
In the Early Empire the high-level standard reached by Aquileian domus (houses) increased further throughout
the 4th c. following the renovation of the imperial officials’ districts. In the interior, the domus featured the
addition of tall apses and the laying of new decorations which contributed to the creation of a lavish contour
for receptions and banquets. The sequence of interventions witnesses the continuity of life in the traditional
residential districts. In the northern district, throughout the 4th c. the forum continued to function as an attraction
for the building of luxurious domus in the area. A large dwelling named the ‘House of the Dancing Cherubs’,
with lavish reception and living space and a private bath was also erected here. New apsed space with precious
mosaics was added to the ‘House of the Wounded Beasts’, which took its name after the mosaic floor depicting
hunting scenes, and to several other domus in the southern districts which were also more visible thanks to their
position in the vicinity of the Christian Basilica.
4 Clothing
Women’s clothing
In the 4th c. women’s clothing underwent change due to external cultural influence and religion. Women no
longer wore stolae, long draped robes tied at the waist, and the palla, a sort of shawl or cape.
They wore tunics with sleeves tight at the wrist, and on top the dalmatica (originally from Dalmatia and used in the
2nd c.), a wide vestment with short sleeves. Covering the head was a draped veil or light mantel, wrapped around
the woman’s body. Jewels were made of precious metal, bronze, iron, or even dark wood. Very much liked were
glass jewels, like necklaces strung with black Trilobitenperlen or with completely black or blue vaghi (glass pearls);
tubular-shaped gold pendants or differently shaped glass pendants were also very fashionable and considered
powerful amulets against disease and danger.
Men’s clothing
The strict division that characterized society in Late Antiquity clearly reflected itself in men’s clothing. The
dalmatica, worn by both genders, was worn by men both as a garment and as a vestment. The toga, worn by4
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Roman citizens, gradually, though never completely, gave way to the paludamentum, a wide cloak or cape
worn by military commanders which indicated the wearer’s rank but which came to be worn in civil life too (the
so-called “ military fashion” started at the end of the 3rd c.) just like the fibula, used to fasten cloaks at the right
shoulder. For those serving in the military, helmets and belts with decorations (especially on the buckle) were the
most effective way to express one’s rank.
5 Mosaic with the depiction of a character in a rural setting and busts of the seasons at the Cossar estate
The restoration of the floor of a sumptuous room in the residential quarter of the Cossar Estate is one of the most
important testimonies of Aquileian society in the 4th c. The male figure, so lavishly dressed among the busts of
the seasons, in an idyllic rural setting, is very likely to be the affluent owner, portrayed amidst his own possessions.
The subtle allusion to happiness and perhaps even Christianity, given the possible overlap with the figure of the
Good Shepherd, bears witness to the important role that decorations in Aquileian domus had in expressing the
social role and cultural orientation of the owners.
6 The apsed room in the Stalla Violin complex. The restoration of the frescoed decoration
The restoration of decorated frescoed plasters found in the Stalla Violin archaeological site is still in progress and
aims at putting together the large number of fragments brought to light during excavations.
The large fragment here illustrated has been subject to preliminary restoration work thanks to which its original
position in the vault of the apse has been identified and the decorative motifs of vine branches populated with
winged animals, outlined in red, yellow, and azure, can be appreciated. After a closer analysis of several of the
pieces, the umbrella-shaped covering of the vault of the apse has been recreated with its strongly marked ribs, in
imitation of the shell decoration depicted in the floor.
The restoration work included the dry removal of natural deposits from the surface, the consolidation of the
plaster and the filling of the gaps. After washing away the cultural deposits and films of calcium carbonate, the
mosaic was placed on a bed of sand to maintain its curved structure. The gaps were then filled with a mixture of
original sands (obtained by grinding and sifting the rubble covering the unearthed mosaics) and select lime. For
its display, an assembly structure has been prepared, though limited in size, following the curves of the apse; thus,CONSTANTINE
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the volume of the apse was recreated by supporting the original mosaic with a trellis.
7 Lighting
The flame of light, the light of Christ
Like in previous centuries, private rooms in large dwellings and humbler houses were illuminated with terracotta
lamps. The market is dominated by so-called African lamps, for the most part produced in Tunisia. These lamps are
so popular as to lead to local imitations of the product sold at lower prices. This merit is especially thanks to the
lively decorations, inspired by Christianity, typically found on the flat top of the lamp, or discus. The most popular
decorative motif was the monogram of Christ later followed by the monogramatic cross and what may be called
“God’s Bestiarium”, in which every animal symbolized a virtue or made reference to Christ’s sanctity (the rooster
and the lion symbolized regality, the dove was the symbol of peace, and the fish was Christ himself ). Reception
rooms were more lavish and adorned with large bronze polycandelons (chandeliers) having radiating bars similar
to those used in churches and shrines, suspended by sturdy chains occasionally made with figurative elements
referring to Jesus – at one time symbols of faith. At the extremities of the radiating bars of the polycandelon were
rings holding glass lamps full of oil with a wick floating in a small terracotta element.
8 The banquet room
The pleasure of banqueting, the pleasure of sharing
The presence of one or two larges apses in the dwellings of high rank officials is a sign of change of social habits.
It is in the rooms with the large apses that the owner (dominus) received visitors or offered lavish meals. Banquets
were the occasion for meeting and gathering. Over time the need to receive many guests led to changes in the
layout of the so-called banqueting couches (Romans reclined on couches while banqueting), which in the 4th
c. shifted from three seperate couches in a room to one large semi-circular couch called stibadium. At the same
time, the layout of the reception space changed as well: from the rectangular triclinium (three beds placed in a
U shape) there was a gradual shift to the semicircular stibadium or the apse. In this new system, the tableware
changed as well: inside the curve of the stibadium there was a round table which no longer allowed for guests
to have their own individual plates as in the past, but only for a single large plate for all the guests to eat from.
Besides the luxurious sets of silverware, which a sauce bowl bears witness to in Aquileia, equally successful were4
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sets of pottery painted in bright orange, produced in coastal Africa with the so-called African Red Slip.
9 The apsed room in the Stalla Violin (“Violin Barn”) complex
The large room with an elevated apse unearthed in 2009-2010 on the northern side of Piazza Capitolo, near
the Stalla Violin archaeological site, is an example of the lavishly decorated reception rooms in Aquileian
residences in the 4th c. The room was later demolished for the building of the bishop’s seat in its place; this has
allowed for numerous fragments of the wall of the apse to be found. Large pieces of fresco fallen to the floor,
which is currently undergoing restoration, can be admired: details of decorations of branches of vines on a red
background.
The mosaic floor shares with the Theodorian rooms the same decorative motifs from a repertoire of groups
of subjects (fish, winged animals, tableware). The apse carries an original decoration: rigidly simplified, two-
dimensional curtains fixed with folds at the vault and shell-shaped.CONSTANTINE
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PIANO PRIMO 0 1 2 ml10 Aquileia Aquileia between the Tetrarchic period and the age of Constantine Upon Diocletian’s ascent to the imperial throne in 284 and the reorganization of the administrative and institutional system, Aquileia became stronger from a military and commercial point of view. Whereas Milan was the place of residence chosen by Maximian’s court in 286, Aquileia was chosen as the governor’s seat in the province of Venetia et Histria. Naval and military forces were deployed to the city with a goal to guarantee connections and supplies for the troops spread along the Danube or for those crossing the eastern Alps. Emperors frequently sojourned in the city. There might have been a structure meant to greet them. Thanks to Aquileia’s geographical position, the city regained the military function it had long lost in previous centuries. It was situated right on the frontier between the dioceses in Italy and Illyria; it was also the urban centre nearest the defensive chain of the Julian Alps (the claustra Alpium Iuliarium); thus it had the role of an outpost along the front defence lines as well as the main gateway from the Danubian border and the Illyrian regions. The city’s commercial vocation, which never diminished throughout the city’s history, grew thanks to its role as a terminal for sea transportation in the Adriatic and trading post to the Illyrian hinterland. Throughout the 4th century the city witnessed important historical events: the war between Constantine and Maxentius (312); the battle between Constantine’s two sons, Constantine II and Constans, during which the former lost his life (340); Magnentius the usurper (350-351); Emperor Julian the Apostate’s troops’ siege of Aquileia (361-362); Theodore’s campaigns against the usurpers Magnus Maximus (388) and Eugenius (394). 11 Introduction The Emperor In Britannia Constantine was made emperor, the first Christian emperor… After Constantine till this day there have been only Christian emperors , except for Julian. Constantine granted peace to the churches after ten years of persecution. (OROSIUS, Histories against the pagans, VII, 28-29) Born in about 270 in Naissus, in Illyria (present-day Niš, in Serbia), Constantine was the son of Helena, a peasant mother, and of Constantius Chlorus, a Roman army officer who was later made Praetorian Prefect and Cesaer under Maximian’s tetrarchy. Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his father’s soldiers after his father’s death in York in 306. Constantine immediately demostrated his determination to acquire absolute power by establishing solid ties with Maximian’s family. Constantine’s engagement at an early age to Fausta, Maximian’s daughter, took place in Aquileia and was the prelude to their wedding celebrations in Treviri (Trier) in 307. Constantine became the sole ruler of the western empire after his battles against Maxentius and Licinius. His challenge against Maxentius also involved Aquileia. The city had sided with the usurper, but after Verona was seized it opened its doors to the emperor and his forgiveness. On October 28 in 312 the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, which was marked by the Emperor’s legendary vision of the cross as the symbol of victory, sanctioned Constantine’s predominance over the west. Constantine immediately issued a series of new measures supporting Christianity, a step taken in the same direction as with the Edict of Toleration by Galerius in 311. The agreements made in Milan with Licinius in 313 gave new meaning to the relationship between imperial power and
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Christianity, and were the basis for the making of the Christian Empire. Being the sole emperor from 324 till his
death in 337, Constantine first executed Licinius and then his son two years later. In 326, for reasons still unknown,
Constantine also ordered the execution of his first born Crispus and of his wife Fausta. Constantine’s presence in
Aquileia is documented in 318 and in 326; his work in favour of the city is easily noticeable in the monumental
edifices erected in the city’s urban areas.
The Bishop
Theodorus episcopus ... de civitate Aquileiensi, provincia Dalmatia
Bishop Theodore, from the city of Aquileia, in the province of Dalmatia
With these words, in 314, the Bishop of Aquileia, Theodore, undersigned the synod of Arles announced by the
emperor to settle the matter regarding the Donatist schism.
Theodore, whose name is of eastern origin, supported the church for a number of years. In episcopal books of
late compilation, Theodore is listed as the 4th or 5th bishop of the city. However, he is the first to have a historical
profile. His work is evident in two inscriptions on the mosaic floor of the Christian cult’s first complex, which
was planned by, erected by order of, and dedicated to Theodore in the second decade of the 4th century. In the
inscription in the northern room, he is depicted as a shepherd who grew in the Aquileian community. In the
inscription in the southern room, most likely added after his death, he is depicted guiding his followers in creating
an episcopal nucleus. Here, above Theodore’s plea is Constantine’s monogram: one of the first testimonies of its
use in public places.
Aquileia splendida civitas
Before the transformations Aquileia underwent from the Tetrarchic period onwards, the city’s urban structure
was similar to what it had been between the end of the 1st c. BC and the 1st c. AD. After the city’s expansion
beyond its defensive walls, especially to the south, its public complexes (the forum, the port) were restored
and new monuments were erected (the civil basilica, the theatre, the amphitheatre). During Diocletian’s and
Maximian’s reign, and later during Constantine’s age, the city was profoundly restructured. The new defensive
walls, four kilometres in length, now included the western suburban area after considerable work on the existing
hydrographic system, which came to exclude the end segment of the Canale Anfora. In this new quarter the
following came to be: a circus, Constantine’s thermal bath complex, the supposed imperial residence, and very
likely the mint. Access to the city was made possible through an urban door. In the overall reorganization of the
city, the forum acquired a central role given that it was the preferred place for urban life and the preservation
of local history. To the south, the defensive walls embraced meanders of the river, thus the Tetrarchic cereal
storehouse, and a number of small marketplaces. In the same area, immediately after 313, the first episcopal14 15
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meeting place was erected and over time became the main urban aggregation point in Aquileia. Lastly, to the
east the walls left out the port quay; however, the port activities did not suffer from this as demonstrated by the
expansion of the storage structures within the walls during the Constantinian age.
A true “urban revolution” which permanently marked Venetia et Histria.
Aquileia splendida Civitas
12 The forum, the heart of civic life
In Late Antiquity the forum preserved its central role in the administrative, social and economic life of the city.
Its articulate layout remained unchanged compared to earlier times: a large paved square, surrounded by
porticoes on at least three sides and dominated by the civil basilica to the south. Between the end of the 3rd c.
and throughout most of the 4th c., the forum increasingly functioned as the preferred place for the preservation
and display of civic memorials. Existing slabs crowning the porticoes and bearing decorations of the heads of
Jupiter Ammon and Medusa were redecorated with inscriptions of distinguished people’s names in the history
of Aquileia since its foundation. Shortly after the middle of the 4th century, the forum was full of monuments
built with parts of earlier manufacts. Among these were the base of the statue for Publio Valerio Marone, Virgil’s
step-father to which many of Virgil’s comments and biographies refer to. The governor of the province of Venetia
et Histria, Settimio Teodulo, contributed to the square’s “classic” renovation by placing statues of traditional Roman
deities taken from shrines and lacking their cult significance. He was the first Christian governor of the province, in
charge during the last years of the reign of Constance II.
13 Fausta’s gift to Constantine: a precious plumed helmet
“Non c’è dubbio che a te già per tempo stava apprestando il sacro fastigio del divino potere, lui [Maximian] che
già allora di sua scelta ti eleggeva come genero, prima ancora che tu glielo potessi chiedere.
And this – I feel – finds proof in the painting on display in the palazzo in Aquileia, in the banquet room: there
the young girl [Fausta] admirable for her beauty but still less in her role, holds and offers you, still a teenager, ohCONSTANTINE
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Constantine, a helmet of gold and gems, ridged with the plumes of a beautiful bird, so that the nuptial gift may
make you – though almost no external ornament is greater – more beautiful.”
(Panegyric to Maximian and Constantine 7, 6, 1-2)
As narrated in the passage from the eulogy prepared for the marriage between Fausta, Maximian’s daughter,
and Constantine, in 307, in Aquileia there is likely to have been a building to host the august Maximian, his
family, and his court when in the city. The building, which must have been an imperial residence, hosted the
young Constantine as well. It was adorned with elegant decorations among which one that represented the
engagement between the future emperor and the young Fausta offering an engagement gift of a plumed helmet
to her spouse. It is likely to have been similar to those in later depictions of Constantine, like the one on a silver
medallion minted in Pavia in 315 embellished by the Christogram, which after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge
became a symbol of the emperor.
14 The imperial residence: the “palazzo aquileiese” (Aquileian building)
The famous passage of the eulogy of 307 which reminds the reader of the existence of the “palazzo aquileiese”
is worth worshiping even though scholars still argue the exact meaning of the word: an actual palace or an
occasional place of residence of the emperor?
Equally debated is the location of the building. The evidence available leads to believing that the location is the
area of the circus. The hypothesis that the “palace” might have been the suburban villa of Marignane, west of the
circus, is weakened by the fact that it lies outside the Late Antiquity city walls.
It is therefore more likely for the palazzo to have been situated on the eastern side of the entertainment building
where statues of emperors came from, then reutilised and reassembled according to local practices in Late
Antiquity. A number of clypei with busts of divinities are also to be found here, dating back to the 4th century, and
find an analogy with tondi inside aristocratic buildings.
15 The cycle of clypei with busts of deities
The clypei with busts of deities, five of which are on display in this exhibit, belong to an extraordinary cycle
of sculptures (or perhaps to two distinct ones). They have recently been considered as pertaining to the rich
production of the Afrodisia school, in Asia Minor, thus date back to the 4th c. AD, not the second half of the 2nd14 15
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century as traditionally maintained.
The tondi, which were mostly found buried in the north-western corner of the wall and in the Forum, represented
the Twelve Olympians as well as the goddess Rome, similarly as with the relief on Hadrian’s shrine to Ephesus,
datable to the Tetrarchic period. The level of refinement of the cycle hints that the decorations might belong to
an aristocratic residence (the imperial residence by chance?), together with the statues of emperors reworked
eclectically in the late Empire. This latter hypothesis is strengthened by the comparison with the almost complete
series of tondi with busts of divinities and with the imperial gallery in the Chirigan Villa in Toulouse. Among the
identified figures are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Minerva, Ceres, and the goddess Rome. Less certain are the figures
of Iunius, Venus, Attis, Hercules, and another very fragmented female figure. Given their shape, a big portico is
likely to have been situated in a long arcaded passageway (ambulacro), symetrically with respect to a central focal
point.
16 Sirmium. The circus-Imperial Palace complex
The city of Sirmium (present-day Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia, on the Sava river) offers a spectacular example of an
imperial palace connected to the circus. Both are situated south of the city in a sort of an urban extension having
its own walls. At the end of the 3rd c. AD the palace became one of the preferred seats of emperors to come. This
extension, a city within a city, had all the necessary facilities to host the emperor himself as well as his entourage
and administrative body. It included a private residential section, a section for the palace’s representative body,
limited to the north by the hippodrome, buildings for the storage of food. The luxurious private section was
embellished by a modern roof structure and mosaic flooring in the classic Late Antiquity style, with geometrical
and floral polychrome decorations. Only one mosaic belonging to a more distinguished section of the extension
depicted the more symbolic motif of Mercury’s bust.
17 The Emperor, the games, and the community
Aquileia is the only city in northern Italy, except for Milan, with a permanent circus structure, built between the
end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th centuries. The concurrent construction of the hippodrome and of theCONSTANTINE
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walls played an important role in the restoration of this Late Antiquity city and denotes its urban expansion in the
western area. All this is expression of the city’s new political role as the imperial residence. As of the Tetrarchic
period, the circus became the place where people manifested their approval of the emperor and where games
were performed. The emperor reached the celebrations directly from his residence.
The connection between the palace and the circus is typical of many cities with an imperial residence between
the 3rd and 4th centuries: Rome (the complex of Massentius on the Appian Way), Milan, Treviri (Trier), Sirmium
(Sremska Mitrovica), Thessalonica, Nicomedia, Antioch, and Constantinople. The Aquileia circus structures known
to us were brought to light and documented by excavations at the end of the 19th century in Marignane. On the
east side of the complex the facade is likely to have been arched, while the west side was externally limited by
the development of urban fortifications. The size of the complex is worth mention: inside the hippodrome is likely
to have been between 460 and 470m in length, and 76m wide.
18 A gallery of distinguished men in the history of Aquileia
One of the slabs reproduced here carries the name of Lucius Manlius Acidinus, one of the founders of the Latin
colony in 181 BC. This bears witness of the deep awareness in Aquileia of the city’s past. The identity and the
merits of the other characters mentioned are mostly unknown. Laberius, quattuorvir, perhaps was one of the first
supreme magistrates of the city after its foundation as a municipality in 89 BC, while Lucius Epidius Titius [---] is
likely to have been one of the other four magistrates. The consul Tiberius Claudius Nero was the future Emperor
Tiberius, or Claudius. The last of the series was Emperor Maximian, most likely still in charge at the time of the
carving of the inscriptions.
On the whole, the inscriptions were a sort of monumental summary of the local history illustrating a gallery of
statues. It may have been inspired by the noble precedent of the Forum of Augustus and has been repeated in
other cities of the Empire, like Luni for example.
19 Power
Officials and the military
Plenty of proof regarding the presence of officials and of the public administration in the city will take visitors back14 15
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to the end of the 3rd and the beginning of 4th century. The governor of the province and his officials are likely to
have resided there as well. There is also plenty of evidence that the military were stationed there. Their presence
influenced the customs and the character of the population as can be seen in the way people dressed in the
depictions inscribed on Christian sepulchres.
The representatives of power
Following Diocletian’s reforms, at the end of the 3rd century, Aquileia became a strategic travel junction: the
administrative centre of the province of Venetia et Histria; head-quarters of the navy and military command; seat
of the main tax collecting offices; starting in the year 295, seat of the mint.
Its centrality in terms of road connections between Italy and Illyria enhanced its strategic role as a defence system
of the Italian frontier. The presence in Aquileia of an imperial residence, in the Tetrarchic period and in the age
of Constantine, and of emperors and of their courts contributed to the growth of the city and of its monumental
heritage, as witnessed by the inscriptions of the emperors themselves or of the officials in charge. All of this
contributed to the development of the social structure of the city.
20 The port
Thanks to its position near the sea, Aquileia was a marketplace for Italy, and was in close contact with Illyrian
lands. Products purchased by sailors on the continent were gathered in Aquileia either by land or river, and all the
necessary goods for the mainland were received via the sea.
(Herodian, History of the Roman Empire, 8,2,3)
Aquileia’s fortunate geographical position determined its key role in trade between the Mediterranean, and Balkan
and Central Europe. The city was also favoured by an efficient road system and by its direct connection with the
sea, thanks to a system of navigable rivers and channels which surrounded the city and allowed commercial ships
to dock at its complex set of quays.
The more important quays were built east of the city, near the Natiso cum Turro river bank where in imperial times
long and spacious storehouses were built. The reorganization of the city in the Tetrachic period left the situation
unchanged in spite of the disappearance of the Anfora Canal - the main waterway connecting Aquileia with the
Marano lagoon - and the building of defence walls which invaded the eastern port walls. The vitality of the river
port and of its economy and commerce in the 4th c. AD is confirmed by the continued use of the river port andCONSTANTINE
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by the increasing size of its storehouses along the eastern banks, thanks to extensions made under Constantine’s
reign. The wealth of imported goods reaching Aquileia from every corner of the Mediterranean and in particular
form North African territories is linked to the presence of the court, though only occasionally, and to the need to
supply the troups on the eastern borders.
The storehouses and the markets
The port installations as well as the halls where large amounts of food reaching and leaving the city were
stored and traded are expressive of the economic importance gained by the emporium in Late Antiquity. The
topographical connection between the river quays, the storehouses and the trade sites is manifest in the port area
as well as in the area between the latter and the forum where a complex was discovered resembling a market
from the Constantinian age.
The horrea (storehouses), built in the south of the city, are the better preserved structures. Burnt wheat was
found inside the storehouses on many an occasion. The storehouse was a huge building (99x66 m) with two halls
separated by a courtyard and divided into aisles by three files of pillars - very similar to buildings in imperial
capitals like Milan and Trier, thus expressive of the intentions of the central power in the Tetrachic period. Between
this complex and the river, within the Late Antiquity city walls, were three humble market buildings with a
courtyard in the middle and wooden cloisters – the building materials came from other locations and were often
recycled, while the purpose of such buildings is clear from the combusted wheat found inside them.
21 The mint and coins in the Constantinian Era
Among the provisions adopted by Diocletian and Maximian at the start of their joint reign was the organization
of a mint in Aquileia. It is still unknown where exactly the mint, active since 295, was located; nevertheless, there
is much probability that it was situated near the imperial residence. The mint was particularly active during the
Constantinian Era with its production of coins in gold, bronze, and especially silver denominations. Documents
in the storage rooms and occasional findings in the city, in the surrounding territory, and in other locations of
the Empire bear witness of their existence. The solidus, the new gold coin, was adopted in Aquileia as well as in
all the mints active after reform in 310. The image of the Sun, standing with a prisoner at his feet and later with
the globe and Victory in his hands, is one of the most famous representations of Constantinian coins before
conversion took place to Christian symbology and the Christogram in 320, which in turn marked a historic change
with consequences on the evolution of western society. The mint closed in 322 or in 324, when coins bearing
the names of Elena and Fausta, Costantine’s mother and wife respectively, were issued in other mints, not in14 15
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Aquileia. In 334 Constantine’s sons continued minting a series of gold coins, among which solidi of Constantine
celebrating victory over the Francs.
22 Constantine’s Thermae felices
The ‘Great Baths’ lay in the south-west part of Aquileia, north of the Amphitheatre. An epigraph displays the
ancient name and dedication to the Emperor Constantine, who had the baths built in the first half of the 4th c.AD
Nearly a century of archaeological research, still in progress, has uncovered a huge monumental complex: the
baths covered a surface of over two hectares, were ten metres in height, and had wide halls with walls and floors
covered in mosaic and sumptuous polychrome inlay-works. The plan, typical of Roman imperial baths, included a
large central hall (frigidarium) surrounded by cold-water pools and at each of the two ends a large hall covered in
refined mosaic floors, at times figured. To the east lay a large open-air pool with an stone-slab floor (natatio), and
opposite the curve-shaped caldarium.
Today nothing survives of the walls and colonnades of the ‘Great Baths’. Besides the mosaic floors bearing
witness to the original luxury of the structure, excavations have yielded fragments of architectural elements
and of prestigious sculptures. These decorated the halls of the baths and were spared from being baked and
transformed into lime for buildings in the late Middle Ages. Among the fragments prevails the marble bust of a
heroic nude statue – a copy of the Greek original from 5th c. BC – to which a portrait head was added, perhaps
during Constantine’s times.
23 The inscription of Constantine’s Thermae felices
The block, made up of two fragments, yields an important epigraphic document which unveils the official name
of the baths, ‘Great Baths’, as well as the date they were built or restored.
[Restitutori operum publi]/corum [d(omino) n(ostro) Fl(avio) Constantino]/ Maximo [Pio Felici Victori (?)], /semper
Augusto,/ Septimius Aelianus, v(ir) c(larissimus), et Fl(avius) / Mucianus, v(ir) p(erfectissimus, p(rae)p(ositi) operis /
[F]elicium Thermarum / Costantiniarum pieta[ti / eius] semper dicatissi[mi]
To the restorer of public works our master Flavio Costantino Massimo Pio Felice Vincitore (?), forever Augustus,CONSTANTINE
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Settimio Eliano, vir clarissimus, and Flavio Muziano, vir perfectissimus, superintendents of the work on
Constantine’s Thermae Felices, forever honour-bound to his benevolence
Constantine the Emperor was paid homage to by two public officials, the former of the Senate rank (the title vr
clarrissimus stands for “distinguished man”), the latter of equestrian rank (the title vir perfectissimus is traslatable
as “perfect man”). The two supervised the work at Constantine’s Thermae felices – the ancient name of the
complex. In truth, this was not a unique and rare name. Constantine’s baths in Rome, those of Trebula Ballienensis
in Caserta, and of Cirta in Africa bore the same name. Even the grandiose baths built in Rome by Maximian for
Diocletian had a similar name: Diocletian Thermae felices.
Based on the imperial title which preserved itself, the inscription has to be dated between 312/315 and 337 AD.
Theodore and the ancient gods
24 Pagan cults in Aquileia in the 4th c. AD
Between Theodore and ancient deities
The “Edict of Constantine” of 313 stated that “freedom of religion” was granted to “all the rest”. Thus, Christianity
was included among the cults practised in the Empire. While Theodore continued building his halls, ancient gods
were worshipped in their own shrines without restrictions. It is only later, in 380, that Christianity became the only
religion permitted. In Aquileia too, those who worshipped other gods practised the religion they believed in. On
the other hand, Christians tried to destroy cults in competition with the one and only God. In this regard, the more
interesting rival deities are Belin, Isis, Mithra.
Belin, protector of ancient Aquileia, perhaps died and resurrected. Not even his looks are known, though he is
likely to have been a young man. The ex-votos offered in the sanctuary in Beligna were damaged and recycled for
construction purposes (to express disdain? to weaken its power?) at the end of the 4th century.
Isis is a goddess in ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and protector of the family. She is the mother of Horus, a
baby god she breastfeeds (a prototype of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus). She was the woman of wheat and of
the sea and was worshipped in a shrine in Monastero, not far from the port. The shrine was destroyed at the end
of the 4th century.
Mithra is the god of the sun and the universe. He was thought to have been born from a rock on the day of the
winter solstice. It is not by chance that the same date was later chosen by Christians to celebrate Christmas and
the Messiah. His cult long outlived others’. He disappeared in the middle of the 5th century, or perhaps even later,
when a number of his worshippers hid a beautiful cult relief (today in Vienna). Decorated lamps with images14 15
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related to his cult, open only to men, were found in the merchant shops of the forum destroyed by Attila in 452.
25 The cult of Mithra
Mithra is the god of the sun and the universe. He was thought to have been born from a rock on the day of the
winter solstice. It is not by chance that the same date was later chosen by Christians to celebrate Christmas and
the Messiah. His cult long outlived others’. He disappeared in the middle of the 5th century, or perhaps even
later, after a number of his worshippers hid a beautiful cult relief (today in Vienna). Decorated lamps with images
related to his cult, open only to men, were found in the merchant shops in the forum destroyed in the 5th c.
26 The Cave of Mitreo
The sun god among the rocks in the Karst
The god Mithras is always represented as a young man slaughtering a bull, the symbol of primordial strength
whose blood will fecundate the land. The killing will take place with the help of Cautes and of Cautopates,
symbols of the sun’s cycle in the sky, and in a cave, symbol of the sky. In Mithraic religion caves are considered the
ideal place for sacred meetings which are never to take place in shrines, but either underground or in dim rooms
inside storehouse, homes, or other buildings. Worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of
initiation: Raven, Nymphus, Soldier, Lion, Persian, Heliodromus, and Father. The rules of the religion were followed
by its worshippers for centuries. A cave discovered in the Triestine Karst in 1965 by ‘Società Alpina delle Giulie’
is said to have been the setting of Mithraic religious practices. The discovery deserves much attention as only
two other similar examples (Angera and Zillis in Grisons) can be found. The cave is located in Mount Hermada a
little way upstream of the mouth of the river Timavo. Inside, lie two rock benches, where worshippers of Mithras
gathered to celebrate sacred banquets (with bread, wine, meat), the stele featuring the slaying of the bull, and
other votive dedications. Banquet objects, lamps, and coins were also found. The date they carry indicates that the
cave had been a mitreo (place of worship) from the 1st to the middle of the 5th century. At that time, something
terrible occurred: the sacred reliefs were brutally damaged, the furnishings destroyed, and no one had returned
to worship the god Mithras. Christians reacted and decided that this ‘pocket’ of resistance to Christ was to be
eliminated. Who were the worshippers of Mithras who continued over time to gather here? They are thought to
have been the workers of the Aurisina caves, and especially in the Late Roman Empire the soldiers stationed thereCONSTANTINE
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to control the land and the sea from the heights of Duino.
The Theodorian complex
27 Christians in Aquileia, from persecution to the triumph of the cross
... sanctorum martyrum ... qui civitatem nostram glorioso martyrio decoraverunt
... of saint martyres ... whom our city decorated with their glorious martyrdom
(CHROMATIUS (Bishop of Aquileia (389-408)), Sermons, frg .VII.)
Evidence of the faith of Christian martyrs was of particular importance in the process of affirmation of the new
religion in the pre-Constantine age. Diocletian and Maximian’s persecutions were not particularly ferocious in
Aquileia. Nevertheless, after the 4th edict against the Christians was issued, worth mentioning is the martyrdom
of Chrysogonus, an important member of the Chrisitian community in Aquileia, perhaps the bishop in charge,
of his two brothers and sister Cantius, Cantianus and Cantianilla, and their companion Protus. Members of an
aristocratic family, the Cantiani’s were justiced in the vicinity of the Aquileian walls, near the family property in ad
acquas Gradatas, present-day San Canzian d’Isonzo (Gorizia). Archaeological sources and data confirm that their
historical martyrdom took place on May 31st in 304; their martyrdom was venerated and remembered within the
Christian community shortly after their death. Their case was essential in the confirmation of Christianity and for
the growth of the Aquileian Church at the beginning of the 4th c., even before Constantine’s measures in favour
of Christians.
28 Theodore’s Aquileia
The episcopal complex
The most well-known and best preserved monument of the Constantinian era is the Christian episcopal complex;
it is also known as the Theodorian complex, taking its name after Bishop Theodore who built the Christian
monumental edifice, the first of its kind in Aquileia.
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planned and built as a whole; it includes two main parallel halls, rectangular in shape and without apses (southern
hall and northern hall), connected to the west by a transverse section. The rest of the area between the two halls
included an open area and small rooms, among which the baptistery with a round baptismal font where a portion
of the floor mosaic is still visible. The nucleus was accessible via a long corridor with two structures on the side,
probably where the bishop dwelled. Another corridor, with an open courtyard and a well, connected the south
and north halls: the main cult areas decorated with prestigious mosaic floors, divided into sections, with rich visual
representations among which a marine scene from the Jonah story in the chancel of the southern hall. The halls
were decorated with frescoes, the lower parts of which remain carrying imitations of marble slabs. The southern
hall frescoes depicted a gate which opened to a heavenly garden scene animated with little angels, birds and
fountains. A partitional architectural architraved colonnade, painted at the higher ends of the walls, in the southern
hall, completed the picture in these spaces. The ceilings were also frescoed with a variety of designs. Among these
prevailed the coffered ceilings which were to match with the corresponding geometrical partitions of the mosaics.
The eastern section of the two religious halls, most likely used by the clergy, was set off by carved marble slabs, like
those with peacock tail-shaped decorations, here on display and typical of the paleo-Christian age.”
29 Christ’s monogram and the instrument of torture
The monogram of Christ, also known as Constantine’s monogram, following the emperor’s dream on the
night before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 (“In hoc signo vinces”, literally meaning “In this sign, you will
conquer”), is formed by superimposing the first two letters of the Greek name for Christ: Chi (χ) and Rho (ρ). The
monogrammatic cross also consists of the superimposed Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P); here, however, the X
is rotated by 45° resulting as the image of the cross and the symbol of the resurrection of Jesus. The monogram
cross is also often associated with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, which according to the apocalypse of John
mean “beginning” and “end”.
30 Signs of Christianity
The confirmation of Christianity and its penetration into Late Roman society finds its expression in the
development of a figurative and symbolic language which can be found in features and materials of everyday
life. In the 4th c. a number of objects attributable to Christian thought and doctrines were more and moreCONSTANTINE
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widespread. The bronze cross bearing a young and beardless Christ is undoubtedly an extraordinary artefact,
though its function is still unknown. Of considerable value are also the jewels linked to Christian symbology,
like those featuring the Christogram, which was a very lucky symbol in the era of Constantine. The message of
a new religion was expressed in everyday objects as well, for example on lamps in the 4th and 5th c. where the
depiction of elements recalling Christianity seem to became a trend in expansion.
31 Christian art
Freedom of religion soon led to an increase in the number of Christian followers, both at a intimate level and
in the field of artistic production. In Aquileia this change is witnessed by a series of sepulchral epigraphs with
inscriptions and depictions. These offer an interesting picture of the Christian community at the time and of its
social divisions. In the sepulchral field there were also Christian depictions on sarcophagi of artistic prestige used
for the burial of people belonging to a certain rank. These include fragments with images of Christ, worshippers at
prayer, and the Good Shepherd. The latter seems to represent the Christological interpretation of one of the most
common pastoral-rural representations of Roman art; it was a symbol of the cultural heritage of the language of
Christian art.
A unique piece, with an unknown function, is represented by concordia apostulorum or, as commonly said, the
apostles Peter and Paul, one of the highest levels of Aquileian art of Christian origin.You can also read
