The catalog accompanies the exhibition (Milan-Rome) to celebrate the anniversary of the issuing of the Edict of Milan in 313 AD by the Emperor of the Roman Empire in the West, Constantine, and his counterpart in the East, Licinius.
This imaginative and richly illustrated volume is the most up-to-date, significant publication on the subject, with elegant graphics which are intended to evoke the splendor of the age of Constantine. The clarity of the scientific texts means that the catalog is not only aimed at experts on the subject, but at a wider audience. The catalog contains an impressive number of articles written by leading Italian and international experts on various themes that are fundamental to the exhibition. Many of the articles focus on the religious revolution which transformed an age of persecution into an age of tolerance. Having carefully considered the sources, it looks into the origins of the chrismon of Imperial Rome and the symbol of the victory of the Christian faith. It goes on to describe the other religions of the Empire and the transition from polytheism to belief in one God. Other studies look at the three institutions which were the key players in the time of Constantine: the Church, the army and the Imperial court. Another section is devoted to Helena and her role as a powerful woman poised between the Imperial household and saintliness, the places associated with her in the East and in Rome, the question of her portrait, and the iconographic tradition, old and new, of the Legend of the True Cross. The catalog comes with a complete and illustrated breakdown of all the 200 works on display, on loan from the finest museum collections world-wide.