Discover Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella and the Castrum Caetani

With its 11 metres of height, its imposing bulk and its elegance, the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella is the symbol-monument of the ancient Via Appia, along which it stands out at the third mile, a short distance from the complex of Maxentius.

It was built for a woman whose family explains its size. The tomb was raised during the principate of Augustus, in the years between 30 and 10 BC, for the noblewoman Cecilia Metella, as the great funerary inscription walled into the upper part of the mausoleum states. Daughter of the Roman consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus, Cecilia was probably also the daughter-in-law of the famous Licinius Crassus, a protagonist of Roman political life and member of the first triumvirate together with Caesar and Pompey. Turismo Roma states that the wealth and prestige of the family explain the dominant position of the mausoleum with respect to the road and its monumentality.

It is a smaller Mausoleum of Augustus. On the outside a powerful square base — preserved only in part — supports a tall cylinder faced with slabs of travertine.

And the carving at the top named the place. Its highest part is decorated with a marble frieze in which, besides garlands of flowers and fruit, one can make out the characteristic bucrania, or ox skulls — by virtue of which the locality would in later centuries take the name "Capo di Bove". The frieze is interrupted by a high relief with a trophy of arms and a barbarian prisoner with his hands tied behind his back, and the body of Cecilia was kept in a burial chamber of conical form, faced with brick and open at the summit with an oculus.

A thousand years later it became a fortress. At the beginning of the 14th century the mausoleum was incorporated into the castle built by the Caetani family — the Castrum Caetani — and transformed into the main tower of their fortification. The residential part, with its crenellated walls and fine mullioned windows, today houses the "Museo dell'Appia", a collection of statues, sarcophagi, inscriptions and reliefs coming from the rich funerary monuments that faced onto the road. The church of San Nicola a Capo di Bove also formed part of the Castrum — the only testimony of Cistercian Gothic architecture, of which the external structure with the apse survives.

It quotes the emperor's own tomb. Turismo Roma records that the mausoleum recalls, in reduced dimensions, that of Augustus.

Its form is base, drum and facing. On the outside, a powerful square base — preserved only in part — supports a tall cylinder faced with slabs of travertine.

The decoration is concentrated at the crown. The highest part is decorated with a marble frieze with garlands of flowers and fruit and the characteristic bucrania, or ox skulls, interrupted by a high relief with a trophy of arms and a barbarian prisoner with his hands tied behind his back.

The chamber inside is conical and top-lit. The body of Cecilia was kept in a burial chamber of conical form, faced with brick and open at the summit with an oculus.

Its medieval phase is structural, not decorative. The mausoleum was transformed into the main tower of the Castrum Caetani, whose residential part has crenellated walls and fine mullioned windows; and the complex included the church of San Nicola a Capo di Bove, the only testimony of Cistercian Gothic architecture, surviving as its external structure with the apse.

It was built to be seen from the road. Turismo Roma is explicit that the wealth and prestige of the family explain the dominant position of the mausoleum with respect to the road and its monumentality — the siting at the third mile of the Appia is a design decision, not an accident of land.

It was faced, not solid. A powerful square base carries a tall cylinder faced with slabs of travertine.

Its chamber was built as a cone with a hole in the top. Conical in form, faced with brick, open at the summit with an oculus.

Its second construction turned a tomb into a tower. In the early 14th century the Caetani built a castle around it and made the mausoleum the main tower of their fortification, adding a residential part with crenellated walls and fine mullioned windows.

And its third was a museum. That residential part today houses the Museo dell'Appia, whose contents were taken from the rich funerary monuments that faced onto the road.

What are the opening hours? Tuesday to Sunday: 9.00–18.30 from 1 to 31 October; 9.00–16.30 from 1 November to 28/29 February; 9.00–18.30 from 1 to 31 March; 9.00–19.15 from 1 April to 30 September. Last entry 30 minutes before closing.

When is it closed? Monday and 25 December.

How much does it cost? No price is published. Turismo Roma gives a ticketing link and no amount.

How tall is it? 11 metres — a tall cylinder faced with travertine on a square base.

When was it built? Between 30 and 10 BC, during the principate of Augustus.

Who was Cecilia Metella? A noblewoman, daughter of the Roman consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus and probably also the daughter-in-law of Licinius Crassus, member of the first triumvirate together with Caesar and Pompey.

Why is the area called Capo di Bove? Because of the bucrania, or ox skulls, in the marble frieze round the top of the mausoleum.

What else is on the frieze? Garlands of flowers and fruit, and a high relief with a trophy of arms and a barbarian prisoner with his hands tied behind his back.

Why does it have battlements? Because at the beginning of the 14th century it was incorporated into the castle built by the Caetani family and transformed into the main tower of their fortification.

What is the Museo dell'Appia? A collection of statues, sarcophagi, inscriptions and reliefs from the funerary monuments that faced onto the road, housed in the residential part of the fortification.

What is San Nicola a Capo di Bove? A church that formed part of the Castrum Caetani — the only testimony of Cistercian Gothic architecture here, surviving as its external structure with the apse.

Where is it? Via Appia Antica 161, at the third mile.