Ai piedi del colle di Tuvixeddu, there is one of the few surviving testimonies of the Roman age necropolis, consisting of monumental tombs carved and variously shaped in the rock..
It is the mausoleum, dating back to the end of the 1st-beginning of the 2nd century AD, which preserves the remains of the Roman noblewoman Atilia Pomptilla and her husband Lucio Cassio Filippo, condemned to exile in Sardinia, and dedicated by the latter to the memory of his wife who, according to legend, died in his place after having fervently prayed for his recovery.
The facade reproduces that of a small temple in Ionic style. On the architrave are depicted two reptiles, from which the name of the monument derives, symbol of the lineage of Lucio Cassio Filippo. The interior of the mausoleum, carved into limestone, is divided into three rooms: a vestibule and two funerary chambers. The walls are rich in inscriptions in Latin and Greek, mostly in verse.
Information on the “Grotta della Vipera” Tomb
Viale Sant’Avendrace, 87
09100 Cagliari (Cagliari)
0704560956
Info@anamnesys.it
https://www.comune.cagliari.it
Source: MIBACT
