Resti archeologici del Circo romano

The Circus was the major building In Roman cities and invested with military importance. In northern Italy, only Aquileia and Milan - both imperial cities - had one. The Circus was the only opportunity the emperor had of showing himself to the people and of receiving honours and homage. Milan's Roman circus occupied a vast area between what are now Via del Torchio, Via Cappuccio, Corso Magenta, Via Brisa and Via Morigi. It was 450 metres long by 80 metres wide and probably built by Emperor Maximian in the 4th c. AD in the wide bed of the river Nirone next to the imperial district. Today, only a few blocks of the foundations of the stands remain (found in the cellars of some houses in Via Cappuccio and Via Morigi) and some parts of the hollow brick and pebble conglomerate elevations in Via Vigna. The nucleus of the square tower used as a bell-tower in the Monastero Maggiore has been recognised as Roman. This was one of the two towers that closed the body at the head of the Circus from which the 2 wheeled chariots taking part in races exited. The bracket with acanthus leaf decorations seen on one side of the tower is all that remains of the decorations of the Roman building.

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