Monte Del Grano

Monte del Grano is the popular name of the mausoleum of the Roman emperor Alexander Severus, located in Parco XVII Aprile 1944 in Rome's Tuscolano district. The third-largest burial mound in the city after Castel Sant'Angelo (the Mole Adriana) and the Mausoleum of Augustus, the complex was originally a semi-underground stone structure covered by an artificial, grass-covered hill. Today the mound, about 40 feet (12 meters) high, sits somewhat hidden among modern apartment buildings. You can enter the interior via a long corridor that leads into a circular chamber, which was once divided into two levels. The name probably derives from the shape the mound took on after travertine blocks were removed in the 14th century to produce lime. A popular legend, on the other hand, tells of a heap of grain that was turned to earth as divine punishment. The tomb was part of a large necropolis and once housed a magnificent sarcophagus, which can now be seen in the Capitoline Museums.