Every Sunday in October free guided tours of the Cestia Pyramid

The Special Superintendence of Rome, directed by Daniela Porro, is promoting a series of extraordinary openings of the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, following the great response to the European Heritage Days.

Guided tours, coordinated by archaeologist Barbara Rossi in charge of the site, will be three every Sunday, at one-hour intervals, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., for a maximum number of 25 people per round. The visits are free admission but reservations are required by filling out the appropriate form that will be made available every Tuesday at www.soprintendenzaspecialeroma.it

The Cestia Pyramid is the only surviving monument in a series found in Rome in the 1st century BC when funerary construction was affected by the fashion that arose after the conquest of Egypt in 31 BC.
Caius Cestius, a Roman politician and a member of the priestly college of the Epulonians, stipulated in his will that the construction of his own tomb, in the form of a pyramid, take place in 330 days. The tomb was erected along the Via Ostiense in the period between 18 and 12 BCE. The Pyramid was later incorporated into the city wall built between 272 and 279 at the initiative of Emperor Aurelian.

The structure, 36.40 meters high with a square base measuring 29.50 meters on a side, is composed of a core of opus caementicium with brick curtain; the outer facing consists of slabs of Luna marble.

The barrel-vaulted burial chamber was walled up at the time of burial, according to Egyptian custom. The walls are frescoed according to a decorative panel pattern, within which figures of nymphs alternating with lustral vessels stand out against a light background. Above, in the corners of the vault, four winged Victories carry a crown and ribbon in their hands; in the center originally was to be a scene of apotheosis depicting the tomb’s owner.

“This reopening is part of the work that the Special Superintendence of Rome is carrying out capillary in archaeological sites and monuments that are not routinely open to the public,” said Superintendent Daniela Porro. “An opportunity for the many citizens who want to know more about the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, an archaeological monument that is a symbol of the urban fabric of the Capital and a protagonist of great History.”

Photo by Special Superintendence of Rome.

Every Sunday in October free guided tours of the Cestia Pyramid

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