L’architettura del mausoleo imperiale: articolazione e funzioni del recinto

In the history of studies of the archaeological complex of San Vittore, the focus has been on the mausoleum, whose plan, floor and wall decoration, relationship with a supposed Christian basilica have been investigated. Less historiographical attention has been paid to the enclosure in its architectural and functional dimension. In this brief chapter firstly we re-examine the archaeological remains of enclosure, secondly we discuss the morphology and location of an enclosure in other imperial mausoleums, and finally we analyse the rituals performed in these spaces, questioning the function, both military and sacred, of the Milanese enclosure.