Augusto Ottaviano decided to build the mausoleum in 28 BC upon his return from a military campaign in Egypt, ending with his victory at Azio ( 31 BC) and the surrendour of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. Many important figures were buried there.
As related by Svetonio, Augusto visited the tomb of Alessandro Magno in Alessandria in Egypt, and was probably inspired to construct a dynastic tomb for the gens Giulio-Claudia, the immortal emblem of his family and its power.
The site selected was the northern Campo Marzio, not yet urbanized at the time, where the tombs of many illustrious men could already be found.
The mausoleum, with its diameter of 300 Roman feet (about 87 m), is the largest known circular tomb, much larger than the tomb of Adriano (Castel S.Angelo), which has a diameter of 64 m.
The monument is composed of a main cylindrical structure covered in Travertine. There is a flight of steps leading to a door at the center. It is flanked by two pilasters on which were placed bronze tablets engraved with the Res Gestae - the autobiography of the emperor. Alongside it, there were two granite obelisks, used again as a decoration of the Dioscuri fountain in Piazza del Quirinale and Piazza dell'Esquilino, behind Santa Maria Maggiore.
Structurally, the monument was composed of a series of rings of brick walls. The external ones, connected by seven radials, formed the vaulted buildings, while the internal ones formed circular corridors.
The long entrance passages (dromos) led to two ring-shaped corridors, which surrounded the circular tomb cell, with three rectangular niches. The central block of the building was constructed of a cylindrical nucleus covered by cuneiform, Travertine slabs.
Over the centuries, the mausoleum had many different uses, although many are hypothetical.
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Rione IV - Campo Marzio
Regio IX - Circus Flaminius
Piazza Augusto Imperatore
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