New Emperor Augustus Square

From “non-place” to the heart of the city

What had become a forgotten ruin is today a beating heart of central Rome.
The Mausoleum returns to be a symbol of an eternal city that is renewing itself, a bridge between the imperial past and the urban future. It is not only a restored monument, but a space returned to the citizens, where they can sit and meet.

After more than twenty years of waiting, the new Emperor Augustus Square will be inaugurated in June 2025.
The square is now pedestrian, clean, elegant. No longer an anonymous esplanade, but an urban space to be lived in: wide travertine and cobblestone kerbs, paths that descend into the cavea around the mausoleum, games of levels that connect the modern city with the ancient monument.

The mausoleum, already partially reopened to the public in 2021 with guided tours and augmented reality, is destined to soon become a real permanent museum, with exhibitions, multimedia panels, and an installation that tells the history of Rome through the figure of Augustus.

Cellini's Architectural Ideas: Dialogue Between Levels and Civilizations

The architect Francesco Cellini creates a connection between urban and archaeological levels, exploiting the natural difference in height to create two wide travertine steps that connect Ripetta Street and the church of San Carlo at the original level of the Mausoleum; they are not traditional stairs, but delicate ramps that become “stage spaces”.
At the level of the ancient ruins, incorporating portions of travertine flooring from the 1st century AD, the pedestrian square comes to life. There is also an information point, a small café, and the entire area is designed to host open-air cultural events.
On the north side, the architect Cellini designs a sort of "trench", an underground space that continues the archaeological walk, creating a balance between the green mantle at street level and the urban amphitheatre around the Mausoleum.

The project described by architect Francesco Cellini:

First of all, we planned the creation of a connecting area between the monument and its square, going down to the archaeological level and using the difference in height to host a series of services that stimulate the functions and uses of the city and re-engage the monument in a network of urban relations.

In conclusion, the project satisfies several urban requirements such as:

recovery of the spatial hierarchy between city and monument, making the historical shell no longer a “non-place” but an area to be lived in;
an invitation to stay, not just to pass by: with spaces to stop, look, read;
integration of archaeology into public life, removing it from isolation and instead visually enhancing it.

The photographs were taken in June 2025