Forgotten mausoleum of Roman emperor Augustus reborn

A newly renovated colossal mausoleum for the founder of the Roman empire Augustus has reopened to the public in the Italian capital after centuries of neglect.

"Until now we have always known it as a ruin, but it is one of the most important monuments of antiquity," explained Alessia, a masked guide taking a small group of visitors on the labyrinthine route through five concentric enclosures.

"It was so majestic, they had never seen anything like this in Rome."

The mausoleum was built on the banks of the River Tiber between 28 and 23 BC.

It is a vast, towering monument to Augustus, the great-nephew of Julius Caesar who built the Roman empire during his 40-year rule.

The cylindrical base has a diameter of 90 meters, on top of which was planted a mound of cypress trees. On the summit, a bronze statue of the emperor stood guard, taking the total height to 45 meters.

At the center of the mausoleum, originally clad in white marble and travertine, was a burial chamber reserved for Augustus and his wife Livia, while around them were further rooms reserved for members of their dynasty.

But it had fallen into such a state of disrepair, in ruins and overgrown with weeds, that modern-day Romans described it as a "rotten tooth".

Mayor Virginia Raggi rejoiced at seeing "a masterpiece of Roman antiquity, a priceless treasure, restored to its full splendour".

After the fall of the Roman empire, the mausoleum lost its relevance as a burial site and like other Roman monuments was put to a variety of uses by the generations that followed.

It was a fortress in the Middle Ages, then a Renaissance garden, an arena for bulls and buffalo fighting, and in the early 1900s a concert hall was built over it.

The...