The square
When the first venue of the ‘Gusto group opened in May 1998, the square’s redevelopment hadn’t started yet, but the owners decided to invest in this part of Rome that is permeated in history none the less. Here an intriguing combination brings together buildings of incredible beauty, such as churches, monuments and archaeological sites.
The Emperor Augustus
Many periods and architectural shapes are visible, starting with the Mausoleum of Augustus, an imposing burial monument of the I century AD with a round map, and the Museum of the Ara Pacis, an altar dedicated by Augustus in 9 AD to Peace, in its form as a divinity. Among the most recent renovation works performed in the square was the construction of a case for the Ara, designed by the great architect Richard Meier, and built in steel, glass, travertine and stucco, which was the first major architectural-urban planning intervention in the centre of Rome since the Fascist period. Plans for the immediate future of the Municipality of Rome include renovation projects that aim to return the square to the front of the Mausoleum of Augustus, at the archaeological level, with the recovery and restoration of the ancient flooring of the I century AD that will create the yard of the imperial sepulchre. The churches of San Rocco and San Girolamo dei Croati on the same square are also worth visiting.
