Spot Where Caesar Was Murdered to Open to Public

In a couple years' time it'll see visitors other than cats
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 18, 2019 1:31 PM CST
Spot Where Caesar Was Murdered to Open to Public
A view of the archeological site of Largo Argentina, in Rome, Monday, Feb. 18, 2019. A complex of ancient temples linked to Julius Caesar’s murder will be opened to the public.   (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In 2012, researchers pinpointed the location where Julius Caesar was murdered—but the spot was accessible only to a colony of cats. That'll change come late 2021 thanks to the high-end jeweler Bulgari, which is funding the restoration of the Rome site known as Largo Argentina. The AP reports the ruins of the temple complex sit below street level, which has given tourists a sight-line from above. With what ANSA reports is about $900,000, walkways will be built within the site so tourists can get close.

As for the location where Caesar was stabbed by rival senators, "we always knew that Julius Caesar was killed in the Curia [Theater] of Pompey on March 15th 44 BC because the classical texts pass on so, but so far no material evidence of this fact ... had been recovered," said a researcher in 2012. Digging up a concrete structure stone pedestal about 6.5 feet tall and 10 feet wide changed that. It was erected by Augustus, "to condemn the assassination of his father" and ostensibly marks the spot where Caesar died, per a 2012 press release. Live Science reports its location was found to be at the base of the Curia of Pompey, providing a necessary historical link. (A key site described by Caesar may have been found.)

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