The Casal Rotondo is a mausoleum along the Via Appia Antica in Rome. It was built towards the end of the first century AD. It is not know who were the owners of the monument.
Casal Rotondo Rome
Opening hours and admission
The monument can be viewed from outside.
History and description
The Casal Rotondo can be seen on the left side of the street, just before the Miglio VI (about 9 km from the beginning of the Via Appia). (One Roman mile is about 1,5 km). It is the biggest round monument along the street.
The mausoleum resembles a big cylindrical drum.
Originally it was covered with big slabs of travertine marble. Around the middle part of the 19th century Luigi Canina restored the marble covering.
The name of the owner of the mausoleum is not known.
The upper part of the mausoleum was later transformed into a country house. In order to do this they used a medieval tower that belonged to the Savelli family and was part of a series of watchtowers along the Via Appia.
Luigi Canini also had a wall constructed next to the mausoleum. He decorated this wall with fragments of marble he thought to have been part of an aedicula that was built on top of the tomb. (Another theory holds that, since one of the pieces has the name Cotta inscribed on it, they are part of a sepulchral monument of the Aurelii Cotta family.)
Address and public transport
The Casal Rotondo stands along the Via Appia Antica. Zona: Aeroporto di Ciampino. The nearest bus stop is Capannelle/Appia Nuova (118, 520, 654, 664, 789, C11, N26).