Basilica of Maxentius

Ancient building in the Roman Forum, Rome

The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine , sometimes known as the Basilica Nova—meaning "new basilica"—or Basilica of Maxentius, is an ancient building in the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. It was the largest building in the Forum, and the last Roman basilica built in the city.

In ancient Rome, a basilica was a rectangular building with a large central open space, and often a raised apse at the far end from the entrance. Basilicas served a variety of functions, including a combination of a court house, council chamber and meeting hall. There might be, however, numerous statues of the gods displayed in niches set into the walls. Under Constantine and his successors this type of building was chosen as the basis for the design of the larger places of Christian worship, presumably as the basilica form had fewer pagan associations than those of the designs of traditional Greco Roman temples, and allowed large congregations. As a result of the building programmes of the Christian Roman emperors the term basilica later became largely synonymous with a large church or cathedral. Construction began on the northern side of the forum under the emperor Maxentius in 308 AD, and was completed in 312 by Constantine I after his defeat of Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The building rose on the north side of the Via Sacra, The central nave was long, wide, high, with side aisles wide and high. Eight massive marble columns high and in circumference stood at the corners of the nave. They were all destroyed except one that was removed by Paul V in 1613 to the Santa Maria Maggiore where it still stands.]] The south and central sections were probably destroyed by the earthquake of 847.

The artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) drew many etchings of the basilica. The building became an inspiration for many buildings built afterwards, including New York City's former Penn Station.