Ancient Rome pyramid comes under spotlight

NEW YORK - The Associated Press

AP Photos

Rome’s only surviving pyramid from ancient times is finally claiming its long-sought spotlight.

After a Japanese clothing magnate helped pay for an ambitious cleanup, archaeologists are eager to show off the monument, constructed around 2,000 years ago as the burial tomb for a Roman praetor (also known as a magistrate) named Caius Cestius.

Despite its impressive height of 36 meters, the pyramid draws few tourists. Decades of grime has blackened the monument’s creamy white Carrara marble exterior, which lies near a traffic-clogged intersection and a subway station. The pyramid’s base is below street level since the metropolis has been built up over the centuries, so many hurry by without realizing the monument’s height.

Archaeologist Leonardo Guarnieri told reporters Feb. 3 that tours, including of the frescoed burial chamber, are being given twice a month with reservations.

Visitors must crouch as they make their way through a narrow corridor leading to the burial chamber. But what happened to Caius Cestius’ remains is unknown, Guarnieri said. Inside the chamber, visitors can see an upward-sloping tunnel. He said the restoration has bolstered theories the tunnel was dug out in medieval times, possibly by grave-robbers.


The pyramid is one of four known to have been built in ancient Roman days, but the only one to survive until today.

Their construction reflected the popularity of Egyptian-style moments in Rome after the conquest of Egypt, but the simple, frescoed figures on the chamber’s walls were done in the style of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city near modern-day Naples.

With Rome’s heavy pollution blackening and corroding monuments almost as soon as they are restored, the pyramid is being cleaned every few months by a team of free-climbers, to eliminate the need for unsightly and costly scaffolding.

Italy’s culture ministry, chronically short of funds to clean, preserve and protect its immense wealth of artworks, architectural gems and ancient monuments, is holding out the pyramid’s Japanese patron as a model of cooperation between private and public sectors.

Yuzo Yagi, who heads a clothing and textile company, has provided 2 million euros for the pyramid’s restoration.