Mausoleum of Augustus
Mausoleum of Augustus is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Rome audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type monument
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Rome Rome guide
About Mausoleum of Augustus
The enormous circular tomb built by Augustus in 28 BC, once the largest funerary monument in the Roman world, where emperors from Augustus to Nerva were buried.
The Mausoleum of Augustus is one of Rome's most ancient standing monuments, and one of its most neglected. Built by Augustus in 28 BC, well before he formally became emperor, on the edge of the Campus Martius (Field of Mars), this enormous circular drum of brick and earth originally stood 45 metres high and 87 metres in diameter, topped with an earth mound planted with cypress trees and crowned by a bronze statue of Augustus himself.
For over a century it served as the dynastic tomb of the Julio-Claudian emperors: Augustus himself was the first interred in 14 AD, followed by members of his family and the Emperors Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius, and later the Emperor Nerva.
After the fall of Rome the mausoleum was repurposed repeatedly: as a family fortress by the Colonna family in medieval times, as a garden and amphitheatre in the 18th century, as a concert hall and then a cinema in the early 20th century. Mussolini had it excavated and cleared in 1936 to restore its Roman appearance as part of his fascist urban planning. Today it is closed for restoration but can be viewed from outside.
Did you know? The two pink granite obelisks that flanked the Mausoleum's entrance now stand in two different Roman piazzas, one at Piazza del Quirinale, the other at Piazza dell'Esquilino.
How long should you spend at Mausoleum of Augustus?
Plan about ~30 min at Mausoleum of Augustus. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Mausoleum of Augustus worth visiting?
Mausoleum of Augustus is one of the 47 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Rome, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Rome
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