Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella
First-century BC cylindrical mausoleum with medieval battlements on the ancient Appian Way.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella on Rome's Appian Way opens with a woman history barely recorded, yet one of the largest tombs on the ancient world's busiest road. It traces the family behind it, including her father-in-law Marcus Licinius Crassus, the richest man in Rome, and what a monument this size was really meant to announce to everyone passing. It then jumps thirteen centuries forward, to a powerful family who moved onto the site and reshaped the ancient drum with medieval battlements. Look for the carved bull heads still ringing the frieze above you.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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