He worked on it for over 35 years!

There are a few ancient cities that can match the allure of ancient Rome. It is a city that we have seen digitally reimagined, in paintings, in sketches and now as a 1:250 scale model. An enormous project, created by Italo Gismondi, archeologist.

It was commissioned all the way back in 1933 by none other than Mussolini himself. It is called “Plastico di Roma Imperiale” and is a plaster model depicting Rome at the time of Constantine I. That is, in the 4th Century AD.

It is now exhibited in the Museum of Roman Civilization, a place built to demonstrate the history of ancient Rome.

It is considered, one of the most accurate and important representations and references for how ancient Rome looked. Gismondi used maps for known monuments and filled the sites that didn’t have any archeological remains with models representative of that time’s constructional style.

La maquette de Rome à l'époque de Constantin (musée de la civilisation romaine, Rome)

Détail de la maquette de Rome à l'époque de Constantin

plastico, E.U.R. rom marts 2003

Maquette de Rome (musée de la civilisation romaine, Rome)

Maquette de Rome (musée de la civilisation romaine, Rome)

plastico, E.U.R. rom marts 2003

Détail de la maquette de Rome à l'époque de Constantin