Ancient Rome Gives Us Domus Aurea - Nero’s Golden House

by Jill Kammer

Recently an important attraction in Rome was opened for public viewing again. While the Golden House of Nero is not at its full splendor, it has been carefully restored. It was during the Renaissance that these ruins were found. But a huge project to restore them was carried out at the end of the last century.

Everybody knows that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The Golden House of Nero was built in 64 AD after that huge disaster and it is filled with amazing finds. Nero spared no expense on himself using gold plating liberally and filling the ceiling with precious stones to honor himself. Sadly, these riches cannot be viewed if you go there. Looters had their way with the Golden House of Nero not long after the decadent ruler passed away.

Nero’s opulent home actually covered a huge 350 acre grounds which boasted fine vineyards and a lake made just for him. But something unusual about this “home” of Nero’s is that there were no bedrooms in any of the 300 rooms. This is not to say that during those wild orgies we know about, many didn’t just fall in a stupor all around the house and grounds.

One artistic marvel that stood at the site was a magnificent statue of Nero. This huge figure stood 40m (130ft) high. But it was moved to the Coliseum, just leaving the bronze base behind.

If your trip to Rome includes a tour of this fascinating old house, it will be a great experience even though the house was destroyed centuries ago. And since Rome is a delightful destination - especially in the fall when the temperatures are perfect, touring Nero’s house fits any vacation agenda.

You can take a fascinating underground tour, with an audio guide to see the huge variety of rooms and vaults of the house. Fabullus, who was one of the most famous artists of the time, painted the many frescoes you will see there using a style he learned in the city of Pompeii.

For us, the artist Fabullus may not be well known, but great artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael were inspired by him, and those that saw his work at the Golden House of Nero left their names etched into the walls. Names like Casanova and the Marquis de Sade can also be found there if you look for them.

In some cases the ruins are hard to make out and the artwork is still shrouded in ruins. But you won’t be disappointed because you will also see some amazing artwork fully restored on the ornate walls where the artist painted them hundreds of years ago.

You will get to see a diverse assortment of grottos in the underground tour. But when you see the Octagon room, prepare to be impressed. Nero’s obsession with Greek art was easy to witness in this room, which originally held a statue of the Dying Gaul, and is now at the Pallazzo Altemps museum.

But don’t miss out on enjoying the great gardens and grounds during your stay. The organizers also have a replica of the Octagonal Room for you to examine which will give you a real feel for how it was to live in this amazing time in history in Nero’s house.

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