A Japanese businessman has agreed to invest around one million euro to restore a 2,000-year-old Roman pyramid in the Italian capital.
Yuzo Yagi, a fashion business owner from Osaka, is due to sign the agreement and work on the pyramid, which was built in 18-12 BC as a tomb for a wealthy Roman, Gaius Cestius, is set to start in April, according to newpaper reports
“His dream is to leave a mark in our country,” said Rita Paris, who manages the monument on behalf of the state.
“Last year, he visited the pyramid and was struck by how remarkable it was.”
Mr Yagi’s only request is for a plaque with his name on it near the monument. The project will include the use of probes to determine whether there are any secret chambers built into the 36-metre-high pyramid after recent ultrasonic testing found some gaps in the structure.
Like the Colosseum, which is also preparing for a major restoration project next year, the pyramid is at the centre of a busy road junction.
It is covered in Carrara marble and was built following Rome’s conquest of Egypt in 31 BC, which started off a trend for ancient Egypt.
The 23-square-metre frescoed burial chamber at the heart of the pyramid was sealed when it was built but was raided in the Middle Ages.
Factbox
• The Pyramid of Cestius (Piramide di Caio Cestio or Piramide Cestia) is an ancient pyramid in Rome, Italy, near the Porta San Paolo and the Protestant Cemetery.
• It stands at a fork between two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via della Marmorata.
• Due to its incorporation into the city’s fortifications, it is today one of the best-preserved ancient buildings in Rome.
• It was built during the reign of the Emperor Augustus, probably between 18 and 12 BCE. It is a remarkable monument, made of white Carrara marble and exactly 125 Roman feet (37 metres) high. The pyramid was built as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a magistrate and member of one of the four great religious corporations in Rome, the Septemviri Epulonum.
• When it was rediscovered in 1660, the chamber was found to be decorated with frescoes, which were recorded by Pietro Santi Bartoli, but only the scantest traces of these now remain. There was no trace left of any other contents in the tomb, which had been plundered in antiquity.
• The tomb had been sealed when it was built, with no exterior entrance; it is not possible for visitors to access the interior, except by special permission typically only granted to scholars.