The Castrum Caetani In Rome, Italy Editorial Photo

The Castrum Caetani located at the three mile marker of the Via Appia in Rome, Italy. Between 1302 and 1303, the Caetani, or Gaetani, family aided by Pope Boniface VIII bought the land surrounding and including the Tomb of Caecilia Metella, and built a fortified camp, or castrum, next to the tomb replacing a preceding 11th century building. The tomb of Caecilia Metella was built during the 1st century BC to honor Caecilia Metella who was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus, a consul in 69 BC, and wife of Marcus Licinius Crassus quaestor, son of the famous Marcus Crassus who served under Julius Caesar. The castrum`s construction included the building of stables, houses, warehouses, the church of St. Nicholas, and the palace of the Caetani as well as adding the medieval battlements to the top of the tomb thus transforming the tomb into a defensive tower. According to Gerding, the monument was abandoned in 1485.