La tomb of Cecilia Metella was built at the 3rd mile of the Appian Way in the years 30-20 BC in a dominant position overlooking the road, right at the point where the flow of leucitic lava dating back about 260,000 years ago stopped, expelled by the volcanic complex of the Alban Hills.
It is a monumental tomb erected for a Roman noblewoman of whom only some degrees of kinship are known thanks to the inscription still preserved. The father was Quintus Caecilius Metellus, consul in 69 BC, who between 68 and 65 conquered the island of Crete from which he derived the nickname Creticus; the husband was most likely Marcus Licinius Crassus, distinguished alongside Caesar in the Gallic campaign and son of the famous Crassus, member of the first triumvirate together with Caesar and Pompey.
The imposing tomb must therefore be interpreted both as a tribute to the deceased and as a form of celebration of the glories, wealth, and prestige of the commissioning family.
The monument consists of a square-plan base made of cement conglomerate with flint flakes originally covered by travertine blocks, of which only some heads embedded in the core survive today due to repeated Renaissance-era stripping; on this base rises an imposing cylinder, still covered by the original travertine slabs, on the top of which there is a marble frieze decorated with bucrania and garlands of flowers and fruit interrupted by a bas-relief with a trophy of arms and the figure of a captive barbarian with hands tied behind his back. Probably the cylinder was originally surmounted by a tumulus of earth covered by vegetation.
The inside of the tomb consists of a slightly conical funerary chamber with a diameter of about 6.50 m, occupying the entire height of the cylinder, open at the top with an oculus and lined with a very well-made brick curtain.
The top of the mausoleum is today crowned by an elevation in peperino stone blocks which retains a Ghibelline-type battlement relating to building modifications made by the Caetani family to transform the tomb into the main tower of their castle, inserted into the larger Caetani castrum.
9.00 – 17.00 from February 16 to March 15
9.00 – 17.30 from March 16 to the last Saturday in March
9.00 – 19.15 from the last Sunday in March to August 31
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9.00 – 18.30 from October 1 to the last Saturday in October
9.00 – 16.30 from the last Sunday in October to December 31
