Tomb of Cecilia Metella

Immediately following the complex of Maxentius, made up of a circus, villa and the sepulcher of his son Valerio Romolo, the tomb is the symbol of Appia Antica (the Appian Way). It was built in 50 B.C. And is made up of a square base upon which stands a cylindrical block decorated by reliefs of gaellic shields, festoons and bucranium. The woman to whom it is dedicated was the daughter of  Quinto Cecilio Metello Cretico, conqueror of Crete, and wife of Crassus, son of the triumvirate of the same name, but of course the tomb celebrates the entire family. The battlements at the top were part of modifications in 1302 by the Caetani, who built their Castrum (stronghold) here.