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It is well documented that most Roman emperors enjoyed flaunting their wealth, however, there was one that took his lavish lifestyle in the Eternal City to another realm.
Nero.
Deciding that he would build a palace to outdo all palaces, the Domus Aurea, he set forth with these plans in 64AD, after a major fire had swept through the city, destroying much of the area of the Oppian Hill. With this part of the city leveled, making room for his palatial plans, this led to speculation that Nero himself had started the fire.
Not to be deterred by rumors, he set forth with the construction of a complex, located near the Forum. The massive compound sat on 80 hectares, contained 150 rooms, gardens, a lake, fields, vineyards, pasture and forests with domesticated and wild animals. The rooms were lavishly decorated with gold, gems, precious marble and mother of Pearl, unlike any other built during the era. Records indicate that the house shone like gold with the light reflecting on these lavish decorations…hence the nickname, Golden House. And in the case that anyone’s memory lapsed and forgot who they were visiting, a 35-meter-high statue of Nero was situated at the entrance!
Some time ago, I had read about the Domus Aurea. Not open to the public during this timeframe, I had marked it as a point of interest on my Google map and filed it away hopefully for a future visit. Last spring, while perusing the internet, I came across an article advertising tours of the Domus Aurea. Tickets were limited and groups were small, so I excitedly booked a time slot in the afternoon.
Upon my arrival, what I first notice was that I was entering the gates of not only the Domus Aurea, but a park. A park filled with people sitting on benches, children skateboarding on the paved walkways and lovers relaxing on the grass in the shade of the massive trees. Deciding that it would be nice to walk through after my tour was complete, I continued to follow my directions, soon discovering a gate marked Domus Aurea, only to discover that it was not my intended destination.
Parco del Colle Oppio and entrance to Domus Aurea grounds
Virtual reality tours, which show the true nature of how Nero lived, are conducted on the weekends, when restoration work is not being conducted and embark from this location, however, being a weekday, I was directed to another building a little further.
After checking in, more people arrived and we were ushered into the building’s atrium with suggestions that we don outerwear for the cooler temperatures inside.
Not sure what exactly I was there to experience on my tour, I followed the guide down a long walkway, descending perhaps fifty feet or more to where the remains of Nero’s complex now lies, having been plundered, buried, and built upon by his successors.
Arriving in an impressively excavated, dimly lit, octagonal room, I marveled at the spotlighted statue occupying the center of the room and the astrological symbols being projected onto the vaulted ceiling. Indeed, it was much cooler, and I zipped up my jacket as I made my way around the rotunda, examining the adjacent rooms.
Our guide explained that this was the first time that these rooms have been made available as part of a temporary exhibition. This exhibition conjures up the Domus Aurea’s rediscovery by torchlight, in the 15th century, by those, including the painter Raphael, inspiring his future works.
I admired the best-preserved frescoes of the Domus Aurea in the Room of Achilles on Skyros which portrays a scene inspired by the story of Troy. Other rooms contained projections of the grotesques (a style of decorative painting or sculpture consisting of the interweaving of human and animal forms with flowers and foliage), architectural depictions of the palace designs and statues, including a reproduction of the Laocoon.
We were also allowed into the dilapidated (due to weather and dampness) Room of Hector and Andromache, the first room to be discovered in the complex. The room was long and extremely tall; however, some remnants of its original artistry can still be detected.
Having examined all aspects of this beautifully restored piece of the palace, I made my way back up the inclined walkway and out into the warm, late afternoon sunshine.
Winding around the back of the building I had just exited, I followed the pathways, through the Parco del Colle Oppio, searching for the Baths of Trajan, which had been built on top of Nero’s palace, about 40 to 50 years later.
After Nero’s suicide in 68 A.D., his successors, Ortho and possibly Titus, added to the completion of the Domus Aurea, but later successors sought to erase Nero’s memory. Parts of the palace and grounds were filled with earth and built over, the Baths of Titus, the Flavian Amphitheater, the Temple of Venus and Roma and the Baths of Trajan were all built on the site.
The Baths of Trajan, built by architect, Apollo of Damascus, were created for the emperor Trajan and as a recreational and social center for both male and female Roman citizens in the early 5th century. There were the first “great baths” in Rome and at the time, the largest existing thermal building in the world. Not in use for very long, it was deserted and left for ruin.
The remains of these ruins are scattered through the northwest side of the Parco del Colle Oppio…amidst area’s playgrounds. Children were running throughout the area with parents watching, exercising or visiting with others. It was interesting to see these citizens using these hallowed grounds as a recreational site, which it once was in a different capacity, all the while knowing what lies beneath them and around them…the Domus Aurea.
What an interesting way to grow up among some of Rome’s most historical sites!
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Domus Aurea
- https://www.coopculture.it/en/poi/domus-aurea/
- Address: Via della Domus Aurea, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
- Hours: Thursday, 1600-1900, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 0900-1700, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, closed.
- Admission: 23 euro
Baths of Trajan
- Address: Parco del Colle Oppio, Via della Domus Aurea, 1 00184 Roma RM, Italy
- Hours: Dawn to dusk, daily.
- Admission: free