Strange Places in Italy: A Pyramid in Rome?

The Pyramid with the Roman Wall behind

The Pyramid of Cestius is an ancient pyramid in Rome, Italy, near the Porta San Paolo and the Protestant Cemetery. It stands at a fork between two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via della Marmorata.

It's location caused it to be integrated into the ancient Roman city wall, which helped it in being one of the best-preserved ancient buildings in Rome.

The pyramid was built about 18 – 12 BC as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a powerful Roman magistrate and religious leader. It's interior is concrete with a brick veneer, itself covered with slabs of white marble on a travertine foundation. It measures about 100 feet square at its base and stands 120 feet tall.

Its interior contains a barrel vaulted room--the burial chamber. It's a fairly small space for such a large pyramid--about 15' x 12' x 15' high. When discovered in 1660, the chamber was found to be decorated with frescoes. The tomb was a victim of plunder in ancient times. There is no way to enter this massive structure today but it's a wonder to ponder an ancient pyramid in Rome...

--Jerry Finzi

Please use the buttons below to LIKE this post on Twitter and Facebook. Grazie!