The project consisted of the restoration of the Basilica Ulpia, within the Imperial Fora. Inaugurated in 112 AD, the Basilica Ulpia was the architectural jewel of the Trajan's Forum, due to its size, the richness of its sculptural decoration and the value of the marble used. 

The building, with five naves covered by a gilded bronze roof, was largely ruined during the Middle Ages, and the excavations carried out at the beginning of the 19th century and in the 1930s brought to light only faint traces of its ancient grandeur. 

The aim of the new restoration and reconstruction project was therefore to give visitors a clear reading, as faithful as possible to the original configuration of the Basilica, making them perceive the planimetric and altimetric extension, and its architectural meaning.

Given the complexity of the project, a Scientific Committee was established consisting of Giovanni Carbonara, Giorgio Croci, Eugenio La Rocca, Claudio Parisi Presicce and Francesco Prosperetti, with the task of approving and guiding the idea and image of the intervention. 

The works, initiated by the Capitoline Superintendence in 2021, involved the relocation of three columns in cipollino marble – which had been set aside for almost a century, without any relation to the plan of the building – and their return to their original position on top of the four granite columns already relocated last century, to delimit the outer perimeter of the first nave.

The entablature between the two levels, with the frieze decorated with winged victories sacrificing bulls, has been recreated by integrating the original surviving fragments, of which resin copies have been made and installed. 

The project will end with the reconstruction of a part of the pavement adjacent to the anastylosis and the southern entrance staircase of the building, incorporating the original ancient yellow marble slabs found on the site.