The Ulpia Basilica is the centerpiece of the Forum of Trajan, the largest and last of the imperial forums, named after Marcus Ulpius Traianus, emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Inaugurated in the 2nd century, it largely collapsed in the Middle Ages, but was brought to light by excavations at the beginning of the 19th century and in the 1930s.
The project was financed by a donation of 1.5 million euros made in 2015 by the oligarch of Uzbek origin Alisher Ousmanov.