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Mausoleum of Constantina

The Mausoleum of Constantina, also known as the ''Mausoleum of Santa Costanza'', was built in the 4th century AD for Constantina (also known as Constantia), the daughter of the emperor Constantine I. It later became a church. It is located in Rome on the Via Nomentana, within the monumental complex of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura.

It is one of the best preserved buildings from Late Antiquity left in Rome and includes original ceiling mosaics. It was adjacent to the earlier ''basilica'', now in ruins, built by Constantine I from 338 as a funerary hall. It was also built over part of the earlier Catacombs of Saint Agnes in which the martyr Saint Agnes is believed to be buried and over whose tomb was a small chapel nearby.

According to the traditional view, the mausoleum was built in the reign of Constantine I for his daughter Constantina, later also known as Constantia or Costanza, who died in 354. Ultimately, Constantina's sarcophagus was housed here, but it may have been moved from an earlier location.

The mausoleum is of circular plan with an ambulatory surrounding a central dome and survives in essentially its original form. Despite the loss of the coloured stone veneers of the walls, some damage to the mosaics and incorrect restoration, the building stands in excellent condition as a prime example of Early Christian art and architecture. The vaults of the apses and ambulatory display well preserved examples of Late Roman mosaics. A key component which is missing from the decorative scheme is the mosaic of the central dome. In the sixteenth century, watercolours were made of this central dome so the pictorial scheme can be hypothetically reconstructed. The large porphyry sarcophagus of either Constantina or her sister Helena has survived intact, and is now in the Vatican Museum – an object of great significance to the study of the art of Late Antiquity. Provided by Wikipedia