Rome is the only European city to boast a real ancient pyramid. The monument itself is not comparable at all with the marvelous Egyptian pyramids, much larger and way older, still it has its own special technical aspects and interesting story.
The pyramid was built at the beginning of the 1st Century AD by the heirs of Caius Caestius, a rich and powerful Roman man who was part of the syndicate of the "Septemviri Epulones" (A group of people who were in charge of organizing the main celebrations and banquets that had to take place in Rome.
Caius Caestius in his will specified that the heirs would not get any of his wealth, unless they built for him a tomb, reminiscent of that of a Pharaoh, within one year from his death. So the heirs started working at this project, and with the help of skilled technicians, and using the technique of the Roman Concrete, which is especially light and strong, managed to build a pyramid which, depite being only a mere 30 meters tall, has one of the steepest angles among the ancient buildings of this kind. Ancient reports tell us, that the project was completed in a mere 330 days from the death of Caius Caestius, so the heirs could enjoy the inherited, and now well deserved, wealth.
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Emanuele
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