An ancient pyramid, thrusting abruptly from the Roman traffic, is a disorienting sight. This is the tomb of a magistrate named Caius Cestius, a member of the college of Septemviri Epulonum, priests responsible for organising public feasts. Built in the dying decades of the first century BC, it is a striking example of the Roman fascination with Egyptian forms after the annexation of Egypt. The pyramid was originally freestanding at the fork of the Via Ostiensis, but was later absorbed into the Aurelian Wall, which accounts for its improbable survival. Its core is brick-faced concrete, once clad in gleaming white Carrara marble. Inside, the burial chamber is modest and unadorned, a stark contrast to the ostentatious exterior. The monument offers a peculiar, silent comment on the Roman ability to absorb and repurpose the symbols of conquered cultures, turning a pharaonic shape into a piece of imperial self-promotion.
Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.
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