Bvlgari's latest act of patronage to Rome will allow visitors to walk through the Area Sacra at Largo Argentina for the first time.

Conservation and maintenance works are underway at Rome's archaeological site in Largo di Torre Argentina ahead of a €1 million development project sponsored by luxury jeweller Bvlgari.

The scheme, expected to take about a year, will make the site accessible to the public for the first time by installing raised paths to allow visitors to "walk through history."

• Rome to open Largo Argentina site to visitors thanks to Bulgari

The elevated walkways will offer close-up views of the four Roman Republican temples, including the circular monument to the goddess of Fortune, and the remains of Pompey's Theatre.

Visitors will also be able to view the numerous archaeological finds from the excavations and demolitions carried out during the Fascist period.

• What will happen to Rome's cats at Largo Argentina?

The so-called 'sacred area' of Largo Argentina is best known as being the scene of Julius Caesar's assassination; it is also home to a popular cat sanctuary which - the city assures - will not be affected by the works.

"The feline shelter will not be touched, it will be protected" - said the city's mayor Virginia Raggi - "and the cats, famous in Rome and around the world, will stay where they are, silent custodians of these treasures."

The mayor said the completed project will make the site accessible in "an integral, definitive way" for the first time.

Largo di Torre Argentina ahead of works to install raised walkways #Rome pic.twitter.com/uNrjgaPwDE

— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) July 13, 2021