Be one of the first to see this unique ancient Roman tomb

[Jovialis]

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/20...omb-rome-open/

Following an extensive restoration, Rome’s Barberini Tomb is officially open to the public for the first time in its history. The two-story monument dates back to the second century BC and can be found along what remains of Via Latina, once a major road in Ancient Rome. According to archaeologists, the tomb — also known as the Corneli tomb — is the only one of its kind still intact thanks to its frequent use as a shelter for farmers and shepherds up until the 1800s.

On a guided tour, visitors will be able to admire up close what experts consider an invaluable example of ancient Roman funerary architecture and decoration. The building’s brick facade features gold, red, and purple decorations, while its interior boasts frescoes of ‘erotes,’ winged gods associated with love and passion in Greek mythology, animals, flora, and spiral motifs.

It took two years to bring the tomb back to life in a painstaking process that included securing the building, reconstructing both the collapsed ground floor and stairway to the upper floor, and installing electricity. The restoration project, made possible by a €250,000 investment, is still ongoing: the tomb’s hypogeum underground level (which originally held the funeral chamber) has recently had its walls and ceilings stabilized. Repairs of the intricate mosaic floor are underway, while a large-scale restoration of the nearby Basilica di Santo Stefano Promartire is also being considered.

The Barberini tomb owes its name to the eponymous Italian noble family who once owned the land where the tomb resides. A sarcophagus depicting scenes inspired by the Greek myth of Protesilaus and Laodamia found within the tomb was moved to the Vatican Museums in the 1700s.

[Angela]

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/20...omb-rome-open/
Following an extensive restoration, Rome’s Barberini Tomb is officially open to the public for the first time in its history. The two-story monument dates back to the second century BC and can be found along what remains of Via Latina, once a major road in Ancient Rome. According to archaeologists, the tomb — also known as the Corneli tomb — is the only one of its kind still intact thanks to its frequent use as a shelter for farmers and shepherds up until the 1800s.
On a guided tour, visitors will be able to admire up close what experts consider an invaluable example of ancient Roman funerary architecture and decoration. The building’s brick facade features gold, red, and purple decorations, while its interior boasts frescoes of ‘erotes,’ winged gods associated with love and passion in Greek mythology, animals, flora, and spiral motifs.
It took two years to bring the tomb back to life in a painstaking process that included securing the building, reconstructing both the collapsed ground floor and stairway to the upper floor, and installing electricity. The restoration project, made possible by a €250,000 investment, is still ongoing: the tomb’s hypogeum underground level (which originally held the funeral chamber) has recently had its walls and ceilings stabilized. Repairs of the intricate mosaic floor are underway, while a large-scale restoration of the nearby Basilica di Santo Stefano Promartire is also being considered.
The Barberini tomb owes its name to the eponymous Italian noble family who once owned the land where the tomb resides. A sarcophagus depicting scenes inspired by the Greek myth of Protesilaus and Laodamia found within the tomb was moved to the Vatican Museums in the 1700s.

I'll definitely do that. Thanks, Jovialis.

I really love poking around in cemeteries and tombs, creepy as that sounds. :) There are the Catacombs, for example, which are very interesting, especially if you call ahead and book one of the better semi-private tours. Or the Capucin crypt with its mountain of monks' skulls.

This is the way it looks now...that whole stretch of Via Latina has tombs along it.





This is the way it used to look.




The Barberini must have developed a taste for the macabre:

"Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, or Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins, is a church in Rome, Italy, commissioned in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII, whose brother, Antonio Barberini, was a Capuchin friar. It is located at Via Veneto, close to Piazza Barberini.^[1]"

[Jovialis]

I'll definitely do that. Thanks, Jovialis.
I really love poking around in cemeteries and tombs, creepy as that sounds. :) There are the Catacombs, for example, which are very interesting, especially if you call ahead and book one of the better semi-private tours. Or with its mountain of monks' skulls.
This is the way it looks now...that whole stretch of Via Latina has tombs along it.

This is the way it used to look.

Me too! :)

When I was in Athens, one of my favorite memories was exploring the Greek and Roman cemetery. I went there around dusk after visiting the Acropolis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerameikos
https://www.athensguide.com/kerameikos-photos/index.htm

[Jovialis]

Me too! :)
When I was in Athens, one of my favorite memories was exploring the Greek and Roman cemetery. I went there around dusk after visiting the Acropolis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerameikos
https://www.athensguide.com/kerameikos-photos/index.htm

Whoops, actually this was the cemetery I went to in Athens:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerameikos
https://www.athensguide.com/kerameikos-photos/index.htm

[Angela]

Whoops, actually this was the cemetery I went to in Athens:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerameikos
https://www.athensguide.com/kerameikos-photos/index.htm

Just my kind of place! :)