Mausoleo di Augusto, the tomb of Emperor Augustus, opens in Rome

(CNN) – He was the first Roman emperor to take over from Julius Caesar and build an empire that would eventually stretch from the United Kingdom to Egypt. On his deathbed he said proudly, “I found Rome built of bricks and left it of marble”.

But Emperor Augustus was not exactly paid in kind when he died in 14CE.

His tomb – a huge, circular mausoleum, the largest in the city when it was built – had been abandoned for centuries.

With its roof fallen in and the cypress trees planted around it and left to grow wild, it is a long way from the carefully preserved Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

In fact, it has been closed to the public for the past 80 years, with brief openings in the year 2000 to celebrate the city’s anniversary year, and again, before closing for archaeological research in 2007.

It was hoped to reopen in 2014, on the occasion of 2,000 years since Augustus died. But eventually, with conservation work still ongoing, it was opened on the day itself.

But finally, a 13-year restoration has come to an end, which will open to the public in March 2021.

A complete renovation

The restorations, completed in two phases, cost more than € 10 million ($ 12 million). The first phase, funded in part by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, and the Roman authorities, was completed in 2019. It oversaw the monument’s restoration.

Phase two, funded by the Fondazione TIM, the social arm of Telecom Italia, at a cost of € 6 million ($ 7,300,000), focused on the internal spaces and setting up tours.

Massive structural works have been carried out to protect the mausoleum and a spiral staircase leading to the monument’s roof has been reconstructed.

The Fondazione TIM has also funded the restoration of the cemetery and the landscape around the mausoleum.

Even the square outside, the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, is being renovated. Until now, the mausoleum was like a roundabout, with cars parked everywhere. The works must be completed in December 2021.

Great neighbors

In 2006, the old pavilion surrounding it was replaced by a glass and steel construction by architect Richard Meier, which is more of a work of art in itself. The altar is now visible from the River Tiber, with the mausoleum behind it.

Augustus had big plans for his tomb. The Emperor – who was born in 63 BCE and seized power in AD 14 – began work on it in 28 BCE, following his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, when ‘Augustus’ was just Octavian – his name before he became emperor.

A gigantic marble-covered grave

Built for him and his family, it is the largest round tomb in the ancient world, measuring nearly 90 meters in diameter and at least 45 meters in height, based on what can be inferred from the remains. Only a third of the original monument has been preserved.

Due to its gigantic size, it was almost the same size as the nearby Pincian Hill, and it was located on the Tiber so that it was visible from most of the city.

Although it appears to be brick today, those walls were originally covered in travertine marble, of which only traces remain.

It is believed to have served as a tomb for over 100 years before the data was lost. It was then mentioned in the 10th century.

From a fortress to an amphitheater

In the Middle Ages, a fortress was built on top of the remains, but it was destroyed in 1241. After that, the structure was gradually dismantled, removing the marble for use as building material.

In the 16th century, the owners of a palazzo nearby turned the interior of the tomb into a garden. By the 1780s it was used as an amphitheater, with bullfights and jousts. In the 19th century it was covered with a glass dome and was used for theater shows; by the 20th century it was used as a concert hall, the Auditorium Augusteo.

It was not until 1936 that his new life came to an end, when the Fascist regime – planning to excavate and preserve the city’s heritage, in an attempt to align itself with ancient Rome – opened the dome and the modern buildings demolished to reveal the tomb one more time.

Restoration work was halted during World War II and restarted in the 1950s.