The Golden House or palace of the Roman Emperor Nero, Domus Aurea can now be admired in all its splendor thanks to a virtual reality tour highlighting some of the majestic rooms, after being buried for centuries.
After a lengthy restoration project of the palace built for Nero - the Roman emperor who allegedly torched the imperial city - tourists and locals alike will enjoy a 3D multimedia visit every weekend. Tours must be booked in advanced and they limited to 24 visitors at a time.
Some of the sites you can see in 3D are Volta Dorata hall and some exterior sections of the edifice, such as its facade or the Oppio Hill gardens.
Francesco Prosperetti, Rome's special archeological superintendent, highlighted the innovative multimedia experience. According to him, this immersive experience offers visitors a close look at the times of Emperor Trajan, as the palace was destroyed after Nero's death in 69 AD.
Nero, the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, commissioned the construction of this majestic complex, that saw the light of day after Rome burst into flames in 64 AD. This is known as the Great Fire of Rome. The famous catastrophe is attributed to Nero. Historians claim that Romans believed Nero himself had started the fire, in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea.
The Domus Aurea became one of the most luxurious residences of antiquity. Its walls were covered in frescoes and marble, and its sprawling grounds hosted an expanse of vineyards, forests, and artificial lake and a variety of treasures brought from the Orient. It was an early use of Roman concrete construction, but this innovation was destined to have a great influence on the art of the future, as they use mosaics in the vaulted ceiling for the first time. So far, mosaics had been restricted to floors.
Nero's extravagant ways led him to commission from the Greek Zenodorus a colossal 35.5 m high bronze statue of himself, the Colossus Neronis. The statue was placed right outside the main palace entrance at the terminus of the Via Appia. This statue may have served the purpose of representing Nero as the sun god Sol.
The Golden House was designed as a place of entertainment, or that is the conclusion that can be drawn by the presence of 300 rooms without any sleeping quarter.
Nero didn't enjoy the luxury of the palace for long. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. He then committed suicide on 9 June 1968 and his death ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
His death also sparked a period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. These emperors that ruled after Nero's demise tried to get ride of the Domus Aurea. They pillaged the palace, despoiled from his valuables. Then they defaced the building and buried it to the point that the Domus Aurea remained entombed for centuries and its frescoes were only rediscovered during the Renaissance.