Rome's Largo Argentina site to host historical re-enactment of Caesar's assassination as well as performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

Rome will mark the Ides of March and the assassination of Julius Caesar on Saturday 15 March with a historical re-enactment of that fateful day in 44 BC.

The event will be staged by the Gruppo Storico Romano in the archaeological area at Largo di Torre Argentina, which opened to visitors in 2023 following works financed by luxury jeweller Bvlgari.

Starting at 14.30, this historical dramatic society will re-enact the senate meetings and conversations leading up to Caesar's murder, followed by a funeral procession to the Roman Forum.

The event, which is supported by the city of Rome, is open to the public and is free of charge, however a ticket for the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo is required to attend the re-enactment of Caesar's funeral in the Forum.

On the evening of 15 March, for the first time, a free open-air theatrical performance of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare will be staged in Largo Argentina, at 19.30.

What is the Ides of March?

Traditionally marked by religious observances and festivals, the Ides of March was also used by Romans as a landmark deadline for settling debts.

The annual event fell on the 74th day in the Roman calendar, determined by the full moon, and corresponded to 15 March.

However the date took on a whole new significance in 44 BC when the assassination of Julius Caesar made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history.

Caesar, who had seized power from the Roman Republic and declared himself a dictator for life, was killed by a group of 60 conspirators led by his senator friends, Brutus and Cassius.

The assassination occurred during a meeting of the senate in the Curia Pompeia, within the larger Pompey’s Theatre complex in the Torre Argentina archaeological site, today also home to a cat sanctuary.

According to legend, a soothsayer had warned Caesar of his impending murder, immortalised by Shakespeare with the ominous phrase "Beware the Ides of March" from his play Julius Caesar.

Caesar is dead! Rome re-enacts the funeral procession of Julius Caesar who was stabbed to death on this day in 44 BC. #IdesOfMarch pic.twitter.com/BGY3eVxrA2

— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) March 15, 2024

Caesar was said to have been stabbed 23 times and he was cremated in the Roman Forum.

The site is marked by the remains of the Temple of Divus Iulius, an altar located to the eastern side of the central Forum area.

Caesar's assassination would result in a long series of civil wars that ended in the demise of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire.

Eventually it led to the rise of his grand-nephew and adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, who became the first emperor of Rome in 27 BC.

It also saw the deification of Caesar 14 months after his murder.

To this day people still commemorate Caesar's death by leaving flowers inside the temple at the Roman Forum each year on 15 March.

Cover photo Gruppo Storico Romano