This majestic arch was erected in AD 315 to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. It was just before this battle, in AD 312, that Constantine—the emperor who converted Rome to Christianity—had a vision of a cross in the heavens and heard the words "In this sign thou shalt conquer." The economy-minded Senate ordered that many of the rich marble decorations for the arch be scavenged from earlier monuments. It is easy to picture ranks of Roman legionnaires marching under the great barrel vault.
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