Before the battle in 312 the milvian bridge had already been in use for more than five hundred years. The bridge was first attested in 207 b.c. when a crowd went out from Rome to greet messengers bringing news of a victory over a Carthaginian army in Italy. The recent construction of the Flaminian Way had no doubt increased traffic between Rome and northern Italy. This new highway was named after Gaius Flaminius, who had instigated its construction during his censorship in 220 b.c.; the “Mulvian” namesake behind the construction of the bridge is unknown. Over the centuries renovations were sometimes necessary for the bridge, organized under the Republic by magistrates such as the censors and subsequently by emperors such as Augustus.

Two features distinguished the neighborhoods in this northern suburb around the bridge. One was the presence of large villas on both sides of the river. The other was a reputation for scandal and debauchery. Marcus Antonius once stopped to drink in a tavern at Saxa Rubra, north of the bridge. Nero enjoyed the nightlife in the vicinity of the bridge, where “he might indulge in lewd behavior more easily outside the city.” From the bridge Wide Street ran in a straight line into the center of Rome. On this “Broadway” young men liked to show off by spinning the wheels of their chariots.