Rome’s Hottest New Attraction: The Site Of Caesar’s Assassination

History buffs and true crime aficionados have a brand new blockbuster attraction to visit in Rome. On Tuesday, city authorities opened Largo di Torre Argentina, the ancient site where Julius Caesar was famously assassinated by those in his inner circle, an act that spawned a long series of civil wars and ultimately brought down the Roman Republic.

The popular Roman dictator was stabbed 23 times by dozens of conspiring senators and appointed politicians, who were either heroes or traitors, depending on whether you accept Shakespeare’s immortalization of the event. The bloody coup happened on March 15, 44 B.C.E., during the Ides of March, a celebration of the first full moon of the month.

The remains of Largo Argentina square stand in the middle of one of Rome’s busiest crossroads. The site includes the remains of Pompey’s Theatre and four temples, which date back as far as the 3rd century B.C. and are all below street level, hidden for centuries by layer upon layer of urban development. Behind two of the temples lies the ruins of what archaeologists believe was Pompey’s Curia, a large rectangular hall that hosted the Roman Senate at the time Caesar was murdered.

On Monday, Claudio Parisi Presicce, Rome’s top cultural heritage official, told reporters that Largo Argentina square was “one of the best-preserved remains of the Roman Republic.”

The ancient site was first discovered during demolition work in 1927, when the colossal head and arms of a marble statue were unearthed. On Monday, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri cut a ceremonial ribbon for the site, a gesture that echoed a displayed black-and-white photograph of Benito Mussolini at a ribbon-cutting in 1929 while the fascist dictator showed off the earliest excavated ruins.

The public opening of the site was a very long time coming, made possible by funding from Bulgari, the Italian fashion house. Until Tuesday, the excavation area could only be seen from behind barriers close to a busy intersection. Now non-residents can pay €5 (roughly U.S. $5.50) to move through a walkway at ground level and view the structures up close.

Tourists listening for Caesar’s ghost are more likely to hear a few meows. Since 1993, the fourth temple has housed a no-kill cat sanctuary, which offers sterilization and adoption programs for an estimated 350 cats.