The Golden House of Nero (Domus Aurea) is an imperial residence, occupying the 2nd place in Eurasia in its area (after the Forbidden City in the capital of China - Beijing).
Story
Nero (Nerō Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) dreamed of the greatest palace in the history of Rome (Roma). However, the center of Rome was built up, and the only opportunity to perpetuate its name was seen in the construction of the palace in the form of a passage (domus transitoria), which would stretch from Palatine (Mons Pălātīnus) to Esquiline Hill (Mons Esquilinus).
However, Nero was "lucky": in 64 AD e. the largest fire broke out, destroying most of the structures around the Palatine Hill. The construction of the Golden House began after this fire.
At the direction of Nero, the giant palace and park complex was designed by the brilliant architects of the time by the North (Severus) and Celer (Tseller).
In the center was a palace decorated with gold and precious stones, and around it gardens were laid out, forests were planted, meadows were planted, ponds were dug. The appearance of the center of Rome has changed, the landscape of 4 hills out of seven has changed beyond recognition, unique views were opened from each new point, the view was struck by the abundance of greenery and marvelous rural nature.
The complex included the hills Palatine and Esquiline and their surroundings, as well as a low-lying place, which later appears Colosseum.
Plans and drawings have not reached our days, but, according to contemporaries, you can estimate the total area of the complex at 40-120 hectares.
Palace
Only fragments of the palace, located in Trajan’s park, located northeast of the Coliseum, have survived to our days.
It was he who was completely rebuilt during the life of the emperor.
The name Golden House is due to the fact that Nero was conceived to cover the gilding dome over his residence. This was a daring decision, since before that only the domes of religious buildings were gilded.
The size of the palace can be judged by the fact that, according to Svetonio, the length of the porticoes along the side walls exceeded one and a half kilometers, there was a pond in the courtyard, fields, vineyards, a forest, wild animals lived freely and grazed domestic animals. In the front was a 36-meter sculptural image of Nero.
The halls for feasts were with hatches opening in the ceiling, from which the petals of flowers scattered on the feasts and incense was sprayed. The central hall was movable to rotate with the heavenly dome. In terms of water, it was salty, as in the sea, and sulfuric, as in healing springs. Such descriptions are preserved in the work of Suetonius "Life of the 12 Caesars."
Mosaic and murals
The memoirs of contemporaries and the results of archaeological research indicate that the builders of the palace of Nero used mosaic panels not only on the walls, but also in the interior of the domes as decoration.
The central hall had two vaults, one of which was rotated using mechanisms that were set in motion by the efforts of several slaves.
Walls and ceiling vaults were adorned by a craftsman named Fabul with frescoes representing plots of ancient myths.
Statue of nero
There is still no consensus on where the giant sculptural image of Nero (Colossus Neronis) by the Greek master Zenodorus was located, called the Colossus: in the hallway or in the territory adjacent to the palace and bordering the city. In the testimonies of contemporaries, its height is 30-36 meters.
When Nero passed away, by the order of his successor Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasianus), the facial features of the sculpture were changed to remove the resemblance to the emperor Nero, and they called the statue the personification of the Sun God. Later, at the direction of Emperor Hadrian (Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus), the sculpture was moved to the amphitheater Flavia (Amphitheatrum Flavium), which was renamed the Colossus renamed the Colosseum. Emperor Komod (Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus) ordered to carve their own facial features instead of the face of the Sun God. Fragments of the statue were preserved until 1936, and after that they were finally dismantled.
The death of the Golden House
When Nero died in 68, at first Emperor Oton (Marcus Salvius Otho) tried to continue his work. But he ruled for only 3 months, after him the Flavian family came to power, the first of which was Vespasian. Vespasian decided not to complete the construction, which required large financial investments.
Therefore, the unfinished Golden House was abandoned. A little later, he was engulfed in fire, then the territory of the palace and park ensemble was leveled, ponds were filled up, and the remains of the palace were preserved underground. In place of the Golden House of Nero, new buildings were erected:
- Coliseum;
- Roman forum;
- Terme of Trajan (Terme di Traiano);
- Arc de Triomphe of Titus (Arco di Tito);
- Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (Basilica di Massenzio e Costantino) and others.
A large amount of land was distributed for the construction of private buildings.
The remains of the palace hidden underground were found in the 15th century. Copies of the palace were made copies of Raffaello (Raffaello Santi) and other Renaissance artists (Rinascimento). However, under the influence of rain and humid air, the frescoes quickly collapsed.
In the XX century, restoration work was carried out for two decades, and from 1999 to 2005, from 2007 to 2010, underground halls were opened for visitors by sightseers. In 2006 and 2010, significant collapse of the vaults of underground halls occurred.
How to get there
The ruins of the Golden House of Nero are located at Via della Domus Aurea.
It is most convenient to get by metro to the Colosseo station or by buses No. 53, 75, 80, 85, 87, 186, 810, to the Colle Oppio stop.
