This paper will deal with the so-called Zeno’s Constitution, De aedificiis privatis, designed
to be applied to Constantinople but used by Justinian in all of the Roman Empire at 531. This
text explains thoroughly the measures taken at that time to protect the public and private rights
concerning private buildings.
Special attention will be given to the modern concerns in this area of urbanism, such as the
pleasure that citizens are entitled to derive from their homes, and they will be compared with
the kind of concerns that can be found in Zeno’s Constitution. In order to do so, the law before
his instructions will be referred to and modern laws of urbanism will be studied, notably in the
MMP , or Municipal Master Plan.