Augustus Caesar

Travelogue... Above is the mausoleum of Augustus Caesar...quite possibly the greatest of the Roman Caesars. Below is a famous statue of the guy, which used to be above his mausoleum, but is now living in the vestibule of this big old church a couple of kilometers away. I rather like the iron work around the niche that the statue sits in. This statue is about twice life size. It used to be holding a flag pole or a spear.
The detail in the statue is stunning! All the details in the armour are obvious, and are easily made out.
The trash and broken buildings that make up a city like Rome mean that some of the most remarkable monuments are actually in a pit...originally this once was the same level as the rest of the area, but as they put buildings up, and they inevitably decayed, were demolished and new buildings put up where the old ones were, the ground level has risen about ten or fifteen feet above the level of the original mausoleum. I think Brenda wanted to show how big the stairs were....you can move a whole busload of tourists down those comparatively modern stairs!
Even after two thousand years, the quality of the workmanship has stood the test of time!
To get an idea of the size of the place, you have to see that in the above picture, there is a standard railing to keep tourists safe in the little hole above the main entrance. Its not that big by Roman standards, but it is plenty big enough! Not that they let tourists in any more!
They tell me his bones have long since vanished.
click on the pictures to enlarge.