From tomb to fortress. The mausoleum of Cecilia Metella and its reuse in the Caetani castrum at Capo di Bove from the post-ancient period to the Nineteenth Century

The mausoleum of Caecilia Metella represents one of the most significant examples of Roman funerary architecture and its subsequent transformation. Originally conceived in the early first century BCE as a monumental tumulus celebrating the gens Caecilia, the building was progressively deprived of its funerary function and underwent a long process of reuse from Late Antiquity to the nineteenth century. This study presents an integrated architectural and archaeological analysis of the monument, based on new survey data acquired through laser scanning and terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry. The resulting high-definition three-dimensional model not only ensures comprehensive documentation of its geometry and materiality but also provides critical evidence for evaluating hypotheses advanced by earlier scholarship—such as the original construction of the access door in the drum. The research retraces the phases of spoliation, adaptation, and fortification that shaped the mausoleum’s evolution: from quarrying and early defensive uses to its incorporation as the fortified keep of the Caetani castrum in the early fourteenth century, characterized by the addition of masonry in opera saracinesca, elevated entrances, and crenellations. Later transformations include its progressive de-militarization in the sixteenth century and its nineteenth-century reuse as a topographic landmark. Despite these alterations, the monument retained its symbolic and monumental presence on the Via Appia. The integrated survey methodology proves essential not only for documenting the current state but also for reconstructing construction phases, architectural adaptations, and the shifting symbolic meanings of the mausoleum over time, confirming its role as a paradigmatic case of ancient architecture reinterpreted across centuries.