Roman Mediolanum

This canvas celebrates the city of Mediolanum (modern‑day Milan), when in 222 BC the Romans conquered the main center of the Insubres and built their new city over the earlier Celtic settlement. Favored by its strategic position in the Po Valley and its abundance of water, the city quickly became a military and commercial hub. During the Republican era it was involved in the campaigns against the Celts and the Carthaginians, until the final subjugation of Cisalpine Gaul in the 2nd century BC.

Under Caesar, Mediolanum became the most important center of the region and in 49 BC obtained the status of municipium. During these years the forum, the theater, and the first city walls were developed. Brutus himself—the future assassin of Caesar—governed this province in 46 BC with such a strong sense of justice that the local populations erected a statue in his honor.

In the Imperial age the city grew further thanks to its proximity to the Germanic frontier. Between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD it saw the birth of emperors such as Didius Julianus, Geta, and Marcus Aurelius Carus, and was equipped with major infrastructures: an amphitheater, grain warehouses, and above all the mint, active from 260 onward. The invasions of the Alemanni highlighted its role as a defensive outpost, prompting Gallienus to create a mobile strategic cavalry reserve based in the area.

The turning point came in 286, when Diocletian entrusted Maximian with the government of the Western Empire, choosing Mediolanum as the de facto western capital. The city was enriched with palaces, baths, a circus, and a second ring of walls, becoming one of the most splendid metropolises of the Empire, as Ausonius described. In 313, Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan here, granting freedom of worship to Christians.

In the 4th century Mediolanum was a major political and religious center: bishops such as Ambrose served here, emperors such as Constans, Constantius II, Gratian, Valentinian II, and finally Theodosius resided here, and councils and solemn ceremonies were held in the city. It also became a beacon of Western Christianity, the place of Saint Augustine’s conversion.

In 402, during Alaric’s siege, Emperor Honorius transferred the court to Ravenna, which was easier to defend. With this move ended the period in which Mediolanum served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire. And here, too, ends the period depicted by this canvas print.

ATTENTION!

DOES NOT INCLUDE FRAME.

DOES NOT INCLUDE WOODEN FRAME.