ROME (Reuters) – History buffs will be able to stroll close to the spot where legend says Julius Caesar met his bloody end, when Rome authorities open a new walkway on the ancient site on Tuesday.
Accounts, embellished by William Shakespeare, tell how the Roman dictator was stabbed to death by a group of aggrieved senators on the Ides of March – March 15 – in 44 BC.
According to tradition, he died in the capital’s central Largo Argentina square – home to the remains of four temples.
They are all currently below street level and up until recently could only be viewed from behind barriers close to a busy road junction.
From Tuesday, visitors will be able to move through the site at ground level on the walkway and see the structures up close.
Italian fashion house Bulgari funded the work at a site that was first discovered and excavated during building work in Rome in the 1920s.
The area – close to where Caesar is supposed to have exclaimed “Et tu, Brute?” as he saw his friend Brutus among his murderers – is these days also home to a sanctuary for stray cats.
Non-residents will pay 5 euros ($5.50) to visit it.
($1 = 0.9161 euros)
(Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
