Mausoleum of Caecilia Metella ( mausoleo di caecilia metella )

 

Build on a piece of rising ground at the third mile of the Appia Antica, or Appian Way, this is its most well known funerary monument and it has become its symbol.

The Roman noblewoman to whom the tomb was dedicated was connected by birth and by marriage to two of the most illustrious Roman families of the late republican period: her father, Quintus Caecilius Metellus, was consul in 69 BC and between 68 and 65 BC; her husband was consul and Member of the First Triumvirate together with Caesar and Pompey in 59 BC, followed Caesar to Gaul between 57 and 51 BC and held several important public offices.

The monument to Caecilia, an excellent example of architecture and building techniques, was built to celebrate the glories of the two illustrious families, in affirmation of their power and social status.

In the Middle Ages the mausoleum was incorporated as a tower into the castle of the Caetani family and a small village grew up around it, The outer walls of the halls of the palace are still intact.

The different levels of excavation have thrown light on the structure of the palace and the ways in which it was built, and the ceramics found and now displayed in the tower, which date from the late 13th century to the 16th century, have added to our knowledge of its chronology.

A new structure has been set up in the courtyard at the entrance to the monument in order to house the ticket office, shop and wardens office and it includes a display of some of the items found here since the early 20th century. 

Information and Addresses

Address Via Appia Antica, 161

Visiting Hours Every day from 9.00 am to one hour before sunset Closed Monday

Price € 6,00; concessions € 3,00

 

 

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