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Tomba di Cecilia Metella Review

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Tomba di Cecilia Metella

Address: Via Appia Antica 162, Via Appia Antica, Rome | Map It
Phone: 06/39967700

Category: Cemeteries
Location: Esquilino and Celio

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Fodor's Review:

For centuries, sightseers have flocked to this famous landmark, one of the most complete surviving tombs of ancient Rome. One of the many round mausoleums that once lined the Appian Way, this tumulus-shape tomb is a smaller version of the Mausoleum of Augustus, but impressive nonetheless. It was the burial place of a Roman noblewoman, wife of the son of Crassus, one of Julius Caesar's rivals and known as the richest man in the Roman empire. The original decoration includes a frieze of bulls' skulls near the top. The travertine stone walls were made higher and the medieval-style crenellations added when the tomb was transformed into a fortress by the Caetani family in the 14th century. An adjacent chamber houses a small museum of the area's geological phases. Beyond the tomb are other ancient ruins, including the tumuli tombs of the Horatii and the Curiatti and the Villa dei Quintilli, once one of Rome's most lavish estates and confiscated from the owners by the Emperor Commodus. This particular area marks the beginning of the most interesting and evocative stretch of Via Appia, lined with vine-covered tombs and fragments of statuary.

Cost: EUR 6
Open: Mon.-Sat. 9AM-1 hr before sunset

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