After decades of neglect, a single of ancient Rome’s most significant monuments, the mausoleum of the 1st emperor Augustus, has been restored and will reopen early subsequent year, city officials announced on Friday.
The mausoleum is the biggest circular tomb in the planet and was constructed in 28 BC close to the banks of the river Tiber to home the remains of Augustus and his heirs, like the emperors Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius.
“This is a historic moment,” Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi told reporters, saying the web-site would open to vacationers on March 1, with entrance cost-free for all till April 21, the day the city marks its founding in 753 BC.
“To reopen a monument like this is a signal of hope as we look with good faith towards the future despite the uncertainties of the pandemic. We need to work for the future and maintain our traditions,” she stated.
Once a single of the most magnificent buildings in the city, it underwent lots of alterations immediately after the fall of the Roman empire, at a single point becoming a fortified castle, then a hanging garden and subsequently an amphitheatre for bullfighting and firework displays.
At the start out of the final century it was transformed into a big theatre for concerts and operas prior to the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the dismantling of the auditorium as he sought to restore the landmarks of ancient Rome.
The web-site fell into disrepair more than the years, trees grew from the walls and rubbish filled the pathways.
All that has been cleared and the structure has been produced secure thanks to a 10-million-euro ($12.25 million) restoration, partly financed by telephone firm TIM.
Augustus helped transform Rome into a planet-class city with his infrastructure projects. On his deathbed, he reportedly stated: “Marmoream relinquo, quam latericiam accepi” (I located Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble).
The original marble cladding that adorned his tomb was plundered centuries ago and a statue that as soon as towered more than the developing has lengthy vanished, but vacationers will get the opportunity to glimpse its previous glories thanks to virtual reality tours.