This cemetery was founded in the 18th century with the eldest tomb of construction dated with 1738. The foreigners of other religion than Catholic could have their places of cult only out of the walls surrounding Rome and in case of death could not be buried in the cemeteries belonging to the Catholic churches. The zone of Pyramid of Cestius, incorporated into the city walls, for Rome of the 18th-19th centuries was considered to be a very remote place, and thus was chosen for the cemetery. It is formed of two parts: an Old cemetery given to protestants containing a tomb of John Keats, and a New cemetery with cypresses and pines which is limited by the walls containing the tombs of Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned in the waters of Spezia's sea in 1822 and cremated by Byron.