Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella

About Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella

The Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella (Mausoleo di Caecillia Metella) is a large well-preserved tomb along Rome’s Via Appia.

The Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella is thought to have been built in the late first century BC and incorporated into a medieval fort in the fourteenth century.

Whilst little is known about its namesake, the inscription on the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella indicates that she was from a prominent Roman family. Her father, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus was a senior magistrate who played an important role in the capture of the island of Crete. Cecilia Metella’s husband Marcus Licinius Crassus the Younger was also an important political figure in the time of Caesar.

Vast, cylindrical and turret-like, the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella is visible from around Via Appia. There is little to see inside the mausoleum, although there is a frieze depicting, amongst other things, the skulls of oxen.

• Italy Historic Sites
• Roman Sites in Italy
• Rome Historic Sites