A Tourist in Rome - Freedmen's Tombs
Location: | 41.89029, 12.51185 Via Statilia, a few blocks west from Porta Maggiore |
Metro: | Manzoni, located along my Southeastern Sights Walking Tour |
Time: | about 10 minutes |
Cost: | Free |
Hours: | Viewable at any time |
These tombs were built during the Republican age at about 100 BC. They were created by and for slaves who had been freed by their masters and then earned their own livings. Their pride in this accomplishment led them to create these lavish funerary monuments. The tombs were found during construction works on Via Statilia in 1916, and the shelter now above them was built to protect them from the elements. A fence prevents close approach but they are easy to see from behind it. Nearby the Aqua Claudia runs parallel with Via Statilia from Porta Maggiore to just past the tombs. In front of Porta Maggiore is another tomb built by a freedman, the Tomb of Eurysaces the Baker.
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