Burst pipe floods Augustus Mausoleum - update 2
(ANSA) - Rome, August 19 - A burst pipe flooded the ditch around the Mausoleum of Augustus Tuesday, the 2,000th anniversary of the death of the first Roman emperor in 14 AD. Fire services started work to try to drain the ditch so visitors could get a rare peek inside, in one of a slew of events during the day around Rome, but in the end the problem was solved by placing a wooden walkway into the fabled monument. Special pumps were meanwhile on the way to get the water out. The Mausoleum, long one of the most neglected ancient sites in the Italian capital, is off-limits because of restoration work but will be specially opened Tuesday while other key Augustus monuments like his famed Altar of Peace, the Ara Pace, and his forum will be lit up.