Do you really know where Julius Caesar died? How, we all learned: the Ides of March in 44 BC, the plot, the 23 punches of the senators, including that of Brutus... And this last sentence from the dictator for life of the empire Roman, remained in history:
“you too, my son”,
for Brutus. But it was in the Curia of Pompey, and not in the Forum, that the plot was completed. A place that can still be admired today, within the Area Sacra de Largo Argentina, in the heart of Rome. An intact archaeological jewel, one of the most important in a city yet rich in monuments of all kinds, rediscovered during the redevelopment of the district in the 1930s.
Jean-Christophe Babin, president of Bulgari. Andrea Tubili
But if we can today visit the exact place where Caesar once died, a century after its rediscovery, it is in fact thanks to the Bulgari house, which largely financed the restoration. It took several years of work and a million euros donated by this patron to design and install the footbridges allowing access to the site to survey it, from the Republican era to the imperial and then medieval times. It has already been a decade, under the aegis of Jean-Christophe Babin, its president, that Bulgari has discreetly but generously financed certain restorations that the Italian and Roman authorities could not undertake alone: the mosaics on the floor of the west entrance to the gymnasium of thermal baths of Caracalla, buried for more than 40 years, the illumination of the Ara Pacis (a stone's throw from the new Bulgari hotel)... But also the Scalinata, the monumental baroque marble staircase of 138 steps, built in the 18th century and leading to the French church of the Trinity of the Mountains in Rome. A restoration financed to the tune of 1.5 million euros by Bulgari. This project symbolized
"Bulgari's special gift to its city, on the occasion of the 130th anniversary"
of the creation of the jewelry house, Jean-Christophe Babin then announced, hailing
"one of the most emblematic architectural jewels of Rome"
. What could be more logical, basically, when we know that this staircase is located between via Sistina, where Sotirio Bulgari opened its first boutique in 1884, and via Condotti, where the brand's current boutique is located?
A Fondazione Bulgari announced from the Ara Pacis in Rome. Andrea Tubili
Jean-Christophe Babin has never made a secret of his desire to finance new interventions in order to support the immense Roman heritage. This will be the case via a new entity, the Fondazione Bulgari, which has just been unveiled in Rome within the Ara Pacis, in the presence of Roberto Gualtieri, mayor of the city.
“For a long time now, Bulgari has been committed through numerous initiatives to building a brilliant future by drawing on our heritage,”
declared Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari and now also president of the Fondazione Bvlgari, on this occasion
. it has always been our duty to give back to the arts, to the cultural heritage of Rome that inspires our House, to underprivileged children who can change the course of their lives through education, to talented people who can have a positive impact on society as well as to the new generation of artisans. This strong commitment has continued to evolve over time, just like the different needs imposed by the evolution of our world. Today, with the Fondazione Bvlgari, we have the opportunity to fully participate in this eternal metamorphosis by having an ever greater influence."