Stele of the Caesii, mid-first century AD.

Maiero (Fe)

Civic Lapidary, inv. RA791

The stele, reassembled in two fragments, is of the aedicule type, with a temple-like structure typical of the 1st century BC. The incomplete pediment has a small lion protome on the tympanum, while in the central part two pilasters with vegetal decoration and Corinthian capitals frame the niche within which are placed the busts of deceased spouses. Their names are made clear by the epigraph: they are Lucius Caesius Celerus and Cassia Grata, depicted frontally, with the husband’s left shoulder superimposed on his wife’s right. The male portrait has hair arranged in two regular orders of locks, while the female portrait has a wavy hairstyle, with two long locks coiled into a cord. The busts, well-defined in their faces, however, have a general vagueness especially in the shoulder and chest areas. The stele, owned by the Este family, was found in Voghenza or more likely Maiero during the 16th century and was later walled in a pillar of the garden of the delizia of Belriguardo. In 1736, at the behest of Rinaldo d’Este, it was donated to the Civic Lapidary, which was being established in those years.

Epigraph transcription and translation:

V(iva) F(ecit) / L(ucio) Caesio, L(ucii) f(ilio) / Celeri / Cassia Grata

He made (the monument) as a living person to Lucius Caesius Celerus, son of Lucius, Cassia Grata