Even by the bloody standards of the ancient Romans, it was a particularly grisly way to die.

The Tarpeian Rock is a precipitous cliff in the heart of Rome from where, during Roman times, traitors, perjurors and larcenous slaves were hurled to their deaths.

Now, in an unlikely marriage between the worlds of high fashion and ancient history, the cliff, which still exists, is to be restored with the help of the Florentine fashion brand Gucci.

Chunks of tufa rock and clods of earth crumbled from the Tarpeian Rock last summer in what city officials called “a mini-landslide” and it is in need of some attention.