Images Sarcophagus of the lawyer Valerius Petronianus. Marble, Constantine Age (315 – 320 A.D.), from the Church of San Dionigi, Milan

Within the collection of the museum there is the sarcophagus of a young lawyer. It goes back to the third century B.C. and was found intact inside the church of Saint Dionigi, founded at the time of Ambrose, in the second half of the IV century. The decoration of the sarcophagus was dedicated to the young man by his father, who expresses his regret at his son’s death at an early age. The lawyer is depicted immersed in his activity, near a basket full of rolled papyrus and while speaking in public. On one side of the sarcophagus the lawyer is depicted immersed in studying a book and on the other in court, pleading. This is an example of how an epigraph tells the story of a life as it was lived in Ancient Milan.