The remains left today is basically a nucleus formed by 150 rooms covered by barrel vaults. The part of the Domus Aurea that was not destroyed after the death of Nero and can be seen even today, is a part of the aqueduct called Arcus Neroniani, which supplied water to the Domus Aurea, to a part of the Baths of Trajan (Terme di Traiano) and the works of the Nymphaeum of Nero. Currently, the large complex of the Domus Aurea is in the Colle Oppio part, which winds around the main hall in an octagonal shape. The city extended on a part of the hill of the Palatine, the Oppio, the Velia and in a part of the hill of the Esquilino. When Nero died, the village was destroyed to return to the Roman citizens all that part of the land, which the emperor had appropriated to build his house.įrom the sumptuous villa it was only a part that was informally rediscovered at the end of the 15th century thanks to some hikers who entered the underground caves, rediscovering ancient painting and the art of the 'grotesque'. The Domus Aurea was built by the Roman emperor Nero, then in 64 AD Rome was devastated by a fire. One of the most famous sculptures found in the excavations of the village, is the Laoconte group (Laocoon and his sons) that represents the extreme sacrifice of the priest and his children that were placed to decorate the complex. The few fragments of pictorial elements that have been found contain a high level of decorations many artists were inspired by the grottos of the Domus Aurea and some of them, such as Raffaello, Ghirlandaio and Pinturicchio, left their signature in memory of the visit to the town of Nero. Each room generally takes its name from the decorative elements contained in them, For example, we find the 'room of the vault of the owls' ('sala della volta delle civette'), the 'room of the black vault' ('sala della volta nera') and the most famous is the 'room of the golden vault' ('sala della volta dorata').

The rooms that belonged to the Domus Aurea have remained to this day as a testimony of the splendor reached in the golden age of the building. The Islands of Venice: Murano, Burano and Torcello.

Domus aureus rome