Rome's Piramide Cestia can be visited on four mornings a month.

Rome’s only surviving ancient Egyptian-style pyramid is located directly oppostite the Piramide train station, beside the city's Non-Catholic Cemetery, on the edge of the city's Testaccio district.

The 36-metre high monument dates from the first century BC and was built as a tomb for the powerful Roman magistrate Caius Cestius.

The Pyramid of Cestius is built into the Aurelian Walls and an inscription on its white marble façade states that its construction took 330 days.

In 2013 the monument underwent a major two-year restoration project whose €2 million cost was sponsored by Japanese entrepreneur Yuzo Yagi. 

In addition to cleaning the exterior, the project included restoring the frescoes painted in the inner chambers of the pyramid whose grounds are today home to a cat sanctuary.

The interior of the pyramid can be visited on the third and fourth Saturdays and Sundays of each month for individuals at 11.00. Tours are conducted in Italian and tickets cost €5.50.

Private tours for groups (maximum 20 people) also take place on the third and fourth Saturdays and Sundays of each month, at 10.00 and midday. These tours can be requested in English, Italian, French, German and Spanish, and the group rate is €130.

Reservations required for both types of tours. To reserve tel. 0639967702, Mon-Fri 09.00-13.00 / 14.00-17.00. Sat 09.00-14.00. The pyramid is closed to all visits in August.

For full details see pyramid website.

Cover photo: ACEA