Well for those who are familiar with Roman history, Rome, the grand capital indeed is full of ruins to fulfill their need of being in the presence of something much older. Therefore, after Pantheon and the Colosseum, they could now get a chance to meet Rome’s first Emperor as he opens his tomb after 80 years.
Based on what CNN has reported, the tomb of Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, will reopen to the public when it was nearly always closed for the last 80 years.
Augustus (A.K.A. Octavian) was Julius Caesar’s nephew. As we all know, Julius himself was never called emperor but rather “dictator for life” before he was assassinated. So, Augustus counts as the city’s first emperor in 44 B.C. who died in 14 A.C. His tomb is a strange, enormous, circular mausoleum that has been mostly abandoned.
The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities spent $12 million on the first stage of monument restorations.
The mausoleum is an enormous circular tomb of the olden world, measuring 90 meters in diameter and 45 meters in height. Augustus’ tomb is generally made of brick, but once it was covered with high-quality marble stones.
As history couldn’t stop by Augustus’ death, his successors used the site of the tomb to host several different events or even changed its whole point as a tomb-like creating a medieval fortress, an amphitheater, bullfighting, and jousting ring, and a concert hall.
The Mausoleo di Augusto will be open to the public on March 1, 2021. Due to the unfortunate ongoing pandemic, fortunately, tickets (which will be free) between March 1 and April 21 for 50-minute timeslots. After April 22, ticketing will be for sale only. There will also be some virtual reality elements available to the public as well.