Piazza Augusto Imperatore, Square in Municipio I, Rome, Italy

Piazza Augusto Imperatore is a square in the Municipio I area of Rome, Italy. It is bordered by three rationalist buildings from the late 1930s and by a modern museum that houses the Ara Pacis Augustae.

The square was created in 1937 as part of a plan to highlight the monuments of ancient Rome, and it required the demolition of many older buildings around the Mausoleum of Augustus. In 2006, a new museum building designed by Richard Meier replaced an earlier structure on the western side.

The square is named after Emperor Augustus, and its layout puts the ancient mausoleum at the center of daily life. Locals cross it on their way to work or to the river, often pausing to look at the white museum that protects the Ara Pacis.

The square is easy to reach on foot from the historic center and has wide, flat paths that make it accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. Visit in the morning or late afternoon when the light is softer and the area is less crowded.

The long glass wall of the Ara Pacis museum lets you see the ancient altar from the street, even when the museum is closed. The square also sits on a slight slope, so the mausoleum appears to rise gradually as you walk toward it.