HISTORIA DEL MAUSOLEO DE AUGUSTO PRIMER EMPERADOR DE ROMA

“The most notable of the monuments is the one known as the Mausoleum (of Augustus), a large tomb rising from a high marble base near the river (Tiber), covered on all sides, from the top, by evergreen trees. At the top is a bronze sculpture of Caesar Augustus, while beneath the tomb is the tomb of the emperor himself, his relatives, and his closest friends. Behind it is a large sacred grove that allows for splendid walks. In the middle of the field is a white marble enclosure, built around the tomb of Augustus, which has a circular iron balustrade whose interior is covered with poplar trees.” Strabo. Geography. V.3.8. The large circular tomb, measuring 87 meters in diameter and 40 meters high, followed Hellenistic (inspired by the tomb of Alexander) and Etruscan models. It rested on a large travertine base perhaps topped with a Doric frieze adorned with metopes and triglyphs, above which rose the imposing building composed of seven concentric rings connected by radial walls.