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![]() Basilica UlpiaThis basilica—the largest in the city—was part of Trajan's Forum and was probably completed in A.D. 112. It was rectangular in shape, had five aisles and apses at the short ends. The main entrance was on the facade of the building facing the open plaza of the forum. The façade was punctuated by three porches. Between the porches were three colossal statues of Trajan, of which two are preserved (one shows him as a general; the other as a magistrate). ![]() Basilica UlpiaFrom Samuel Ball Platner, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, rev. Thomas Ashby. Oxford: 1929, p. 82. On the north-west side of the area of [Trajan's] forum was the basilica Ulpia (probably completed in 112 A.D., CIL VI.959; FUR frgs. 25‑26; Not. app.; Cohen, Traj. 42‑44; Hist. Aug. Com. 2.1: in basilica Traiani; Geog. min. ed. Riese, p120: sicut et quae dicitur forum Traianum quae habet basilicam praecipuam et nominatam), rectangular in shape with apses at each end. Its floor was one metre higher than the level of the area, and was approached by flights of steps of giallo antico. The main entrance was in the middle of the east side, from the area of the forum, where there was a decorative façade, represented with variations on three coins (Cohen, Traj. 42‑44). This consisted of a row of ten columns, probably of yellow marble, in the line of the wall, with six others in front on three projecting platforms. These columns supported an entablature and attics on which stood quadrigae and statues of triumphatores. The central quadriga was escorted by Victories. The great hall of the basilica was surrounded with a double row of columns, 96 in all, probably of white or yellow marble, with Corinthian capitals, which formed two aisles 5 metres wide, and supported a gallery on both sides of the nave and at the ends. The nave itself was 25 metres wide, and the total length of the rectangle, without the apses, about 130. The walls of the basilica were faced with marble, and its roof was of timber covered with bronze which is mentioned by Pausanias (V.12.6; X.5.11) as one of the most notable features of the whole structure. |
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