Nero’s Domus Aurea Pleasure Palace (64 CE)
What does the Emperor of Rome do after the city burns and the people are trying to rebuild? What else than to build a swinging party palace! Whether or not the story of Nero fiddling while Rome burned is fact or fiction, he did build his Domus Aurea, his “Golden Palace,” over the city’s ruins. This pleasure palace took up nearly a square mile in the city center, and had forests, and a man-made private lake.
To make sure there was no doubt about his ego, he had a 36.5 meter tall (120 foot) statue of himself placed outside the palace, with Nero made up to look like the sun god Sol. The palace was specifically for partying; Nero lived and slept at another residence. But Nero wasn’t entirely selfish with his party house; Some of the grounds were open to the public, which helped with his public image.
