This monumental tomb was designed in 12 BC for the immensely wealthy praetor Gaius Cestius in the form of a 120-foot-tall pyramid. Though little else is known about him, he clearly had a taste for grandeur. The structure was completed in just over a month, an extraordinary feat even for the ancient Romans. On the site of the pyramid is a cat colony run by the famous Roman gattare (cat ladies). They look after and try to find homes for some 300 of Rome's thousands of strays. They also give free tours of the graveyard, the pyramid, and their cat shelter on Saturday afternoon.
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