Trajan’s Basilica, a second-century Roman civic building, is receiving long-awaited restorations, though not without controversy over one key donor.
The Uzbekistani-born Russian mining magnate Alisher Usmanov donated 1.5 million euros to restore the basilica in 2015, France 24 reports.
In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Usmanov was sanctioned by the United States and European Union due to the U.S. Treasury Department’s assessment of his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the outlet reports.
As of Wednesday, Usmanov remains on the European Union sanctions list, though he has appealed for removal, Reuters reports.
Despite the controversy surrounding Usmanov, top Roman municipal art official Claudio Parisi Presicce has defended accepting his money, given that the donation was made before Usmanov was placed on the sanctions list, according to France 24.
“If visitors can’t sense the height of the monuments, they won’t understand the meaning of the architecture,” he told Agence France-Presse during a tour of the site, according to France 24.
The Basilica, constructed in the early second century, was built by the the emperor Marcus Ulpius Traianus, who ruled from AD 98 to 117, France 24 reports. Restorations, which began in 2021, are now raising visitors eyes to the basilica’s two-story Corinthian colonnade, which stands over 23 meters high, according to the outlet. (RELATED: 2,300-Year-Old Aigai Palace Of Conqueror Alexander The Great Reopened After Nearly 20 Year Renovation)
In addition to his ambitious building projects in Rome, Trajan also conquered territory in Arabia, the Balkans and Mesopotamia, raising Rome to its greatest territorial extent and earning the nickname “Optimus Princeps” — “Best of Princes.”
A nightly view of the Basilica Ulpia in #Rome, #Italy. Read Guide: https://t.co/k2miwtWw3W pic.twitter.com/gXbOoXxOJA
— Archaeology & Art (@archaeologyart) May 23, 2019
Usmanov has allegedly donated 4.2 billion to charity over the last 20 years, and was named the “most generous charity donor” by the Sunday Times’ Rich List in 2021, France24 reports.
In 2015, Usmanov donated 500,000 euros for the restoration of Rome’s Capitoline Museum, according to a separate report from Reuters. Forbes estimated Usmanov’s fortune at $14.4 billion in 2023, according to Yahoo News.