Italy Restores the Tomb of the First Roman Emperor

The first Roman Emperor and founder of the Pax Romana, Emperor Augustus (born Gaius Octavius) — the man so influential the Roman Senate named a month after him — is finally getting some long-overdue recognition this summer, as his mausoleum undergoes a major renovation to celebrate the 2,000 year anniversary of his death.

Although Augustus is one of the most influential figures in western history, his mausoleum has fallen on hard times. Over the last few centuries, the monument has been bombed, sacked, and built over, acting as a bullfighting ring and concert hall before being consigned to neglect as a meeting place for vagrants and prostitutes. The mausoleum, which stood 120ft-high and was topped by a 15-ft bronze statue of Augustus himself during its heyday, once housed the emperor’s ashes as well as those of his successors, Tiberius and Claudius. But as tourists flock to the Forum and the Colosseum, the final resting place of Rome’s first and greatest emperor — the man whose rule inaugurated more than two centuries of peace and security in the greater part of the known world — lies unremarked and unnoticed behind a fence across from a pizzeria.

But all that is about to change. The Italian government has recently earmarked €2m ($2.7m) to restore the mausoleum and open it up to the public. Organizers of a “sneak peek” of the first emperor’s fallen monument were surprised at the public’s enthusiastic response — more than 5,000 residents of the city lined up to enter the emperor’s hallowed tomb. Organizers were thrilled, comparing the anticipation surrounding the event to the fanfare associated with high-energy rock concerts.

Although the renovation has already missed its original target date of early 2014, overseers of the mausoleum’s reconstruction are confident they’ll have everything repaired and ready to receive the public in 2016. Although overdue, it looks as if the first emperor and prodigal son of Italy may be receiving his proper tribute at long last.