Invariably when I visit Rome I always seem to wander by the Largo Argentina to gape at the inaccessable Area Sacra where Brutus stabbed Caesar on the Ides of March in the year 44 B.C.E. Until just recently, the site was only open to a protected colony of feral cats, but that has all changed. One of the most important locations in Roman history, the site of the assassination of Julius Caesar, has just opened to tourists.

Known today as the Area Sacra, or Sacred Area, the site includes the remains of four ancient Roman temples, as well as what archeologists have identified as the Curia of Pompey.The Italian luxury brand Bulgari has helped fund walkways through the site, portions of which date back to the third century B.C.E. The project was first announced in 2019, and also includes an elevator connecting the sunken plaza to the street level, and nighttime illumination of the ruins.

Since the site was first uncovered in the 1920s, amid demolitions ordered by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, its ancient buildings have only been visible to tourists looking down from the sidewalk above. Over the past 2,000 years, the street level has risen thanks to layers of new construction.

Since the 1990s, the Area Sacra has also been home to the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. It’s run by volunteers known as gattare, or “cat ladies.” The historical site’s feline residents will certainly be part of the attraction for tourists visiting the site, which costs just €5 ($5.44) to enter.