• A brief history of Milan
• The imperial palace
• The Mediolanum Foro Romano
• The San Lorenzo Columns
• Basilica di San Lorenzo
• The museum of archeology
• The mosaics of Via Morigi
• The Roman Theatre
• The Roman circus
• The Roman Amphitheatre
• The Herculean thermal baths

A brief history of Milan

You may not associate Milan with the Roman Empire, but the city, which was originally a Celtic settlement, was conquered by the Roman consul Calvus in 222 BC and he went on to conquer the entire region. In 286 AD Romam Emperor Diocletian decided to divide the Roma Empire into two; the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire and made Mediolanum (the Latin name for the city) the capital of the Western Empire. Dioceltian chose to reside in Nicodemia, the capital of the Eastern Empire (in today’s Turkey) and left Mediolanum to his colleague emperor Maximian, whom we have to thank for the monuments whose ruins you can visit today. Below is a list of the most important:

The imperial Roman Palace in Via Brisa (find on map)

This was Emperor Maximian’s palace but it was actually so vast that it constituted an entrie district; it was around 80,000 square metres and was built when Mediolanum was made capital.

The Mediolanum Foro Romano (find on map)

The main square of Medoilanum in Roman times is located below today’s Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and the San Sepolcro church, it was built by emperor Augustus between the second and thrid century and was 160 metres by 55 metres, the entrance to the forum is at the corner of Via dell’Ambrosiana and Piazza Pio XI.

The San Lorenzo columns (find on map)

16 (well actually there are 17) eight and a half metre tall marble columns with Corinthian capitals from the 3rd centúry AD. They have been named after the church they are located in front of La basilica di San Lorenzo.

Basilica di San Lorenzo (find on map)

Although it is used aa a Christian church today, it was originally a pagan temple from the 2nd century AD, the chapel of the church dates back to 400 AD. It is one of the best preserved Roman monuments in Milan.

The Museum of Archeology (find on map)

The museum holds many beautiful examples of Roman attifacts, pottery, mosaics etc. On the museum grounds you can visit the uncovered site of a Roman residence from between the 1st and 3rd Century, it features some beautiful examples of Roman mosaics and pottery and an octagonal Roman watchtower from the outer walls.

The mosaics of 2, Via Morigi (find on map)

Here you can see an astounding example of a Roman floor in one of the oldest preserved domus (residence) from Mediolanum, it is from the 2nd century BC

The Roman Theatre (find on map)

The remains of this 2000 year old Amphitheatre covers and area of about 450 square metres, you have to book your visit to this extraordinary ruin by either writing an email to  teatroromano@mi.camcom.it or call +390285154378 or +390285154593 during office hours

Il circo – the Roman Circus in via Circo (find on map)

The circus was built between the third and fourth century and was originally 470 metres by 85 metres and was used mainly for horse racing, it originally spanned an area between Corso Magenta where the archeological museum is located and Via Circo, so it is only the last part of it you can see here today.

The Roman Amphitheatre in Via de Amicis (find on map)

This is where the fights between gladiators, wild animals and even elaborate naval battles took place for the entertainment of an audience of up to 20,000 people, the theatre was built between the second and third century.

The Herculean thermal baths in Largo Corsia dei Servi (find on map)

The ruins of he Herculean thermal baths were built on the orders of Emperor Maximian