The mausoleum of Caecilia Metella
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
This late Roman Republican mausoleum (second half of the first century B.C.) was erected for Caecilia Metella and is now one of the most famous burial monuments in Rome - but we don't know that much about the lady herself, not even the exact dates of her life. She was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus who in 69 B.C. was consul. She was married to Marcus Licinius Crassus who might have been the son of Marcus Crassius, one of three members of the 'First Triumvirate' with Julius Caesar and Pompeius.
The exact inspiration for the look of the mausoleum is not known. It has been suggested it is built in Hellenistic style, while others has suggested it is inspired by Etruscan tholos graves.
The mausoleum is now robbed of its original interior. And if you think it looks somewhat like a castle you aren't that far off. The Caetani (the family of pope Boniface VIII) turned into a fortification at the end of the 13th century, known as castrum Caetani. It was later owned by well known families such as the Orsini and the Colonna
The mausoleum of Caecilia Metella
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
This late Roman Republican mausoleum (second half of the first century B.C.) was erected for Caecilia Metella and is now one of the most famous burial monuments in Rome - but we don't know that much about the lady herself, not even the exact dates of her life. She was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus who in 69 B.C. was consul. She was married to Marcus Licinius Crassus who might have been the son of Marcus Crassius, one of three members of the 'First Triumvirate' with Julius Caesar and Pompeius.
The exact inspiration for the look of the mausoleum is not known. It has been suggested it is built in Hellenistic style, while others has suggested it is inspired by Etruscan tholos graves.
The mausoleum is now robbed of its original interior. And if you think it looks somewhat like a castle you aren't that far off. The Caetani (the family of pope Boniface VIII) turned into a fortification at the end of the 13th century, known as castrum Caetani. It was later owned by well known families such as the Orsini and the Colonna