Emperor Augustus’s Mausoleum in Rome Set for Restoration

The Mausoleum of Augustus, the final resting place of the powerful Roman emperor, is about to get a major facelift, according to The Telegraph. An Italian telecommunications company, Telecom Italia, has pledged more than $6.4 million (€6 million) through its TIM Foundation, as first reported by the Italian paper Corriere della Sera.

The mausoleum—which also holds the remains of the emperors Tiberius and Nero, his immediate successors—is the biggest tomb ever built in ancient Rome, but it has suffered from major neglect in recent years. It dates back to 28 BCE, right around the time Augustus—the grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar—took power. At different points in history, it has served as a fortress, a bull-fighting ring, and a concert hall.

It was meant to be restored in time for the 2000th anniversary of the emperor’s death in 2014, but the project hadn’t even started by then, thanks to bureaucratic roadblocks. The restoration will include multimedia projections of Rome, past and present, adorning the walls of the tomb. The projections are supposed to be created by Oscar-winning Italian directors, but the president of Telecom Italia, Giuseppe Recchi, hasn’t specified who might be involved.

The project is expected to take a little over two years (800 days).