Mausoleo di Augusto, Rome

Mausoleo di Augusto, Rome

This is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC in the form of a stone ring covered by an earth mound.

This is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC in the form of a stone ring covered by an earth mound. A brick wall, 87 meters in diameter, carried an earth mound covered with cypresses. On top of the hill stood the bronze monument of the emperor. The vuilding was 44 meters high. On the beginning of the alley which was leading to the tomb were two Egyptian obelisks. On both sides of the doorway Bronze plates reportes the 'Res gestae', the deeds of the emperor. The urns of Augustus, Marcellus, Octavia, Agrippa, Drusus and other members of the Julian Claudian dynasty were revered here. In the Middles Ages the building served as citadel of the Colonna family. It was destroyed by Pope Gregor IX in 1241. The body of Cola di Rienzo was burnt in this monument. Until 1936 concerts were performed in this building. Excavations began in 1926 and all later additions were removed from the building.