Sepulcher of via Bisignano

The Sepulcher located on the via Appia Nuova, along the route of the road to Castrimoenium, dates back to the second half of the second century. A.D. and belongs to the so-called "temple" architectural type.

Examples of similar tombs are the one called "Devil's Chair" or the so-called "Temple of the God Redicolo".

The exterior of the tomb is made up of an elegant polychrome brick decoration in yellow bricks for the curtain and red for the architectural decorations.

The interior, with a square plan, consists of two superimposed rooms: on the lower one, identified as the funeral cell, narrow windows opened and was covered by a cross vault of which today only the squinches at the corners of the walls are visible. Leaning against the latter are the arcosoli where the sarcophagi were placed. The upper room, used for funeral rites, was decorated with a niche on each side, which contained the portrait of a deceased. This room was also covered by a cross vault, of which the squinches remain.

During the Middle Ages it was probably reused as a watchtower.

Photo credits: Courtesy of Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali