Mausoleum of Helen

Photo gallery with exteriors and interiors of the Museum

The Mausoleum of Helena is a Roman funerary monument located in Rome, along the Via Casilina, corresponding to the third mile of the ancient Via Labicana.
It was built by the emperor Constantine I between 326 and 330, originally intended to serve as a burial place for Constantine himself, it was then used as a tomb for Flavia Julia Helena, the emperor's mother, who died in 328.

The mausoleum is accessed from Via Casilina via Via di San Marcellino, adjacent to the church of Santi Marcellino e Pietro ad Duas Lauros.

The Mausoleum of Helena is one of the most important architectural complexes of early Christian Rome of the 27,74th century. The circular building is made up of two superimposed cylindrical drums, the upper one having a smaller diameter, originally protected by a domed covering. The lower drum has an external diameter of 20,18 meters and an internal one of 25,42 meters. The total height was originally 18 meters, while today, lacking the dome, it is about XNUMX meters.

Internally, the lower drum has an octagonal plan. At the vertices of the octagon there are eight niches, alternately rectangular and semicircular, one of the rectangular niches constituting the original entrance. Corresponding to the niches, in the upper ring, eight arched windows opened.

See the video of the Mausoleum of Elena, made with the drone. In the video uploaded to Youtube you can see details that are not present in the photographs.

Video made with DJI Mini 4K drone and edited with Wondershare Filmora 13

In building the dome, to lighten its weight, empty amphorae (called pignatte) were inserted into the masonry, which are clearly visible today in the section of the partially collapsed vault. This construction technique was quite widespread and evidence of it can be found in various buildings including the mausoleum of Valerio Romolo, the temple of Minerva Medica and the mausoleum of the Gordiani. This particular aspect gave rise to the name of Torpignattara (i.e. Tower of the pignatte) by which the mausoleum was known by the Romans and which gave its name to the surrounding area.

The rectangular niche in front of the entrance most likely contained Helen's red porphyry sarcophagus. The external walls of the sarcophagus are decorated with war scenes, which supports the hypothesis that it was initially intended to house the remains of Constantine and only later used as Helen's tomb.

Between 1993 and 2000 the mausoleum underwent a major restoration project. The project included both the restoration of the building and the completion of excavation work that had been started previously and not completed.

The excavations have allowed a better valorization of the building with the rediscovery of the entrance hall on the south side, in correspondence with the ancient Via Labicana. During the excavations the rainwater collection channel was discovered, as well as a well in the center of the mausoleum from which vases from the 11th and 12th centuries were recovered.

The restoration consisted both in the demolition of the additions made in periods following the construction of the mausoleum, which gave the monument its original volume, and in the construction of two galleries, on the first and second floors, which can allow a view of the rooms from above, allowing one to enjoy their size and overall view. The few remaining fragments of the original floor inside the mausoleum were also restored. Source: Wikipedia