Rome opens historic temple site of Julius Caesar's assassination to public
2 min read 20 Jun 2023, 09:44 PM ISTItalian fashion house Bulgari funded the work at a site that was first discovered and excavated during building work in Rome in the 1920s.
PremiumJulius Caesar, the Roman General and Statesman, was assassinated in 44 BC. Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by his fellow senators in Rome on allegations of him becoming increasingly dictatorial in his governance. The incident that attracts history and literature buffs alike will now be made available by the Roman authorities.
Rome has opened a new walkway around the ancient place where Caesar was allegedly stabbed to death. Italian fashion house Bulgari funded the work at a site that was first discovered and excavated during building work in Rome in the 1920s.
Behind two of the temples is a foundation and part of a wall that archaeologists believe were part of Pompey's Curia, a large rectangular-shaped hall that temporarily hosted the Roman Senate when Caesar was murdered, reported AP.
Accounts, embellished by William Shakespeare, tell how the Roman dictator was stabbed to death by a group of aggrieved senators on the Ides of March - March 15 - in 44 BC.
According to tradition, he died in the capital's central Largo Argentina square - home to the remains of four temples.
A group of as many as 60 conspirators decided to assassinate Caesar at the meeting of the Senate on March 15, the ides of March. Collectively, the group stabbed Caesar a reported 23 times, killing the Roman leader. The death of Julius Caesar ultimately had the opposite impact of what his assassins hoped.
Caesar, who declared himself as a dictator, could last the post only almost a year before a group of senators, among them Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s second choice as heir, and Gaius Cassius Longinus assassinated Caesar in fear of his absolute power, as pointed out by National Geographic.
Caesar had consolidated his power and made himself dictator. He wielded his power to enlarge the senate, created needed government reforms, and decreased Rome’s debt. At the same time, he sponsored the building of the Forum Iulium and rebuilt two city-states, Carthage and Corinth. He also granted citizenship to foreigners living within the Roman Republic.
They are all currently below street level and up until recently could only be viewed from behind barriers close to a busy road junction, reported Reuters.
From Tuesday, visitors will be able to move through the site at ground level on the walkway and see the structures up close.
The area - close to where Caesar is supposed to have exclaimed "Et tu, Brute?" as he saw his friend Brutus among his murderers - is these days also home to a sanctuary for stray cats.
Non-residents will pay 5 euros ($5.50) to visit it.
(With agency inputs)