Pyramid of Cestius

A genuine 2,000-year-old Egyptian pyramid standing at the city wall

Address Piazzale Ostiense, 00154 Rome
Admission Free (exterior); tours of interior available
Opening Hours Interior visits on selected weekends; check Parco Archaeologico del Colosseo

Rome's only pyramid, a genuine 2,000-year-old Roman tomb built between 18 and 12 BC when Egyptian funerary fashions swept through the Roman upper class following Julius Caesar's conquest of Egypt. The 36-metre-tall white marble structure stands at the Ostiense city gate, incorporated into the ancient Aurelian Walls, and is one of the best-preserved structures from Roman antiquity.

It sits next to the Protestant Cemetery (Cimitero Acattolico), where Keats and Shelley are buried, making this corner of the Ostiense district worth visiting on the same trip. The pyramid's interior contains a burial chamber with frescoes, open on selected days.

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A story
Gaius Cestius built his pyramid tomb around 18–12 BC after Rome's conquest of Egypt made Egyptian funerary styles briefly fashionable among the Roman elite. He specified in his will that the pyramid must be completed within 330 days — an unusual contractual clause that surveyors believe accounts for the steep angle, as builders rushed to meet the deadline. It is 36 metres tall and made of concrete faced with white Carrara marble.

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