(AFP) — Two giant feet, a knee, a bicep and an enormous head — archaeologists have reassembled these few marble fragments to reconstruct the Colossus of Constantine, a larger-than-life statue of the first Roman emperor to embrace Christianity.
A reproduction of the 13-meter seated statue, a bronze cloak draped over Constantine’s left shoulder, was publicly unveiled on Tuesday, offering a rare view of the towering statues built in ancient Rome to glorify the gods or emperors.
The Colossus of Constantine, reconstructed in its full 12-metre height, soon to go on display at the Capitoline Museums in Rome. pic.twitter.com/EGcBPmKKVE
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“The impression one has before this sculpture of the emperor elicits what must have been the sensation of his subjects before an imperial image,” said Claudio Parisi Presicce, Rome’s top official for cultural heritage.
