A complex of ancient Roman temples that includes ruins of the building where Caesar was stabbed to death is now open to tourists.

Before Monday’s ribbon-cutting, only cats roamed the plaza Largo di Torre Argentina, known as the “Sacred Area,” which sits right in the middle of Italy’s capital city and is the hub of a number of bus routes.

Thanks to funding from luxury jeweler Bulgari, the group of temples has been restored and is now accessible to people as well as the occasional feline. The ruins date back to the 3rd century B.C. and lie about 20 feet below street level because of later construction.

Caesar was stabbed to death by Senate colleagues in 44 B.C. in Pompey’s Curia, the building that was the site of the Roman Senate at the time, archaeologists believe. One of its original walls still stands.

The ruins were unearthed during excavations undertaken by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in the late 1920s as he demolished medieval buildings to remodel the urban landscape. The temples are thought to be dedicated to female deities.

Bulgari dedicated about $1.1 million to the renovation, much of it money left over from the company’s restoration of the Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna in 2016, Conde Nast Traveler reported.

“Rome is always the main source of inspiration for Bulgari,” the company’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin was quoted as saying. “This site has an extraordinary value because it’s the oldest open-air spot in Rome.”

With News Wire Services