The Domus Aurea, or Golden House, was a vast palace complex built by Nero in the center of Rome on land cleared by the Great Fire of 64 CE. It included parks, pavilions, an artificial lake and a colossal bronze statue of Nero. Its architects were Severus and Celer, and the rooms were richly decorated with frescoes, gold leaf and gems. After Nero's death his successors dismantled the palace and built over it, with the Colosseum on the site of the lake and the Baths of Titus and Trajan on parts of the structure. The buried rooms were rediscovered in the Renaissance, when artists such as Raphael descended into them to see the paintings, which inspired the grotesque style of decoration. The site has been open to guided visits in recent years.
Before and after
- 55 CEBirth of Tacitus
- from 58 CE to 63 CERoman–Parthian War of 58–63
- 61 CEBirth of Pliny the Younger
- c. 63 CEEruption of Churchill
- 64 CEOrigins of Domus Aurea
- from 19 July 64 CE to 26 July 64 CEGreat Fire of Rome
- 65 CEDeath of Saint Peter
- from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
- from 66 CE to 135 CEJewish–Roman Wars
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The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 1st century.