Feet of the Colossus of Constantine
Ever since their transfer to the Capitol in 1486, the feet belonging to the marble colossus of Constantine have amazed visitors with their impressive size (over 2 m). The emperor wore neither sandals nor boots: he was deliberately barefoot to look more like a god. The feet, each worked from the beginning in two separate pieces, assume different positions. The left one has its heel raised and suggests a backward pose for the (scattered) leg; the other rests the entire plant on the ground and is completed with two other fragments belonging to the shin and knee. The right leg can, therefore, be reconstructed in a forward pose and uncovered for the lower half. It emerged from a richly draped cloak, for which it was assumed to have been made of gilded bronze sheets or even painted stucco, the latter hypothesis not very credible. The colossus stood thanks to a large number of metal pins and bars, a sort of scaffolding that held the various components together. Due to its polymaterial character, it therefore needed constant maintenance.
Masterpieces of the hall
The hall
The two porticoes on opposite sides and the large open-air space contain important examples of Roman sculpture.
On the left we can see remains of the cell decoration from the Temple of the God Hadrian, with reliefs portraying the Provinces of the Roman empire and military trophies.
Along the righthand wall of the courtyard, containing the embedded remains of three archways belonging to the palazzo's original XV century structure, is a row of fragments from a colossal statue of Constantine from the Basilica of Maxentium.
