Domus Aurea

Construction began after the great fire of 64 and was nearly completed before Nero's death in 68, a remarkably short time for such an enormous project. Nero took great interest in every detail of the project, according to Tacitus, and oversaw the engineer-architects, Celer and Severus, who were also responsible for the attempted navigable canal with which Nero hoped to link Misenum with Lake Avernus. Emperor Otho and possibly Titus allotted money to finish at least the structure on the Oppian Hill; this continued to be inhabited, notably by emperor Vitellius in 69 but only after falling ill, until it was destroyed in a fire under Trajan in 104. A symbol of decadence that caused severe embarrassment to Nero's successors, the Domus Aurea was stripped of its marble, jewels, and ivory within a decade. Although the Oppian villa continued to be inhabited for some years, soon after Nero's death other parts of the palace and grounds, encompassing , were filled with earth and built over: the Baths of Titus were already being built on part of the site, probably the private baths, in 79 AD. On the site of the lake, in the middle of the palace grounds, Vespasian built the Flavian Amphitheatre, which could be flooded at will, with the Colossus of Nero beside it. and the Temple of Venus and Roma were also built on the site. Within 40 years, the palace was obliterated. Paradoxically, this ensured the wall paintings' survival by protecting them from moisture. Rediscovery When a young Roman inadvertently fell through a cleft in the Esquiline hillside at the end of the 15th century, he found himself in a strange cave or grotto filled with painted figures. The Fourth Style frescoes that were uncovered then have faded now, but the effect of these freshly rediscovered grotesque decorations () was electrifying in the early Renaissance, which was just arriving in Rome. When Raphael and Michelangelo crawled underground and were let down shafts to study them, the paintings were a revelation of the true world of antiquity. are the autographs of Domenico Ghirlandaio, Martin van Heemskerck, and Filippino Lippi. Four of the frescos were removed in 1668; the only known surviving fresco of these is currently in the possession of the Ashmolean Museum (not currently on display). The frescoes' effect on Renaissance artists was instant and profound (it can be seen most obviously in Raphael's decoration for the loggias in the Vatican), and the white walls, delicate swags, and bands of frieze—framed reserves containing figures or landscapes—have returned at intervals ever since, notably in late 18th century Neoclassicism, making Famulus one of the most influential painters in the history of art. 20th century to present Discovery of the pavilion led to the arrival of moisture starting the slow, inevitable process of decay; humidity sometimes reaches 90% inside the Domus. Heavy rain was blamed for the collapse of a chunk of ceiling. The presence of trees in the park above was causing further damage. Increasing concerns about the condition of the building resulted in its closing at the end of 2005 for further restoration work. The complex was partially reopened in 2007, but closed in 2008 because of safety concerns. The Domus reopened in 2014. ==Construction==

Suetonius claims this of Nero and the Domus Aurea: When the edifice was finished in this style and he dedicated it, he deigned to say nothing more in the way of approval than that he had at last begun to live like a human being. The Domus Aurea complex covered parts of the slopes of the Palatine, Oppian, and Caelian hills, while others estimate its size to have been less than . Suetonius describes the complex as "ruinously prodigal" as it included groves of trees, pastures with flocks, vineyards, and an artificial lake—rus in urbe, "countryside in the city". Nero's main residence remained the imperial palaces of the Palatine, while the pavilion on the Oppian was used when he preferred to remain in the horti, and the buildings with vestibulum and stagnum were used for feasts, where he received the people of Rome. To supply his lake in the valley between the Palatine, Oppian, and Caelian, Nero diverted water from the Aqua Claudia by a specially built branch aqueduct known as the Arcus Neroniani. This extended 2 km west from the Claudia to the southern side of the Caelian Hill. He also built a nymphaeum on the eastern side of the Caelian, visible across the valley from the pavilion, and against the eastern wall of the unfinished Temple of Claudius. The nymphaeum was made up of tiered columns and semicircular and rectangular niches; it would have contained a large sculptural group at the centre. Archaeological excavations confirm that the water cascaded from the top of the nymphaeum down into 4 basins. The aqueduct fed the nymphaeum and ultimately the lake. Nero also commissioned from the Greek Zenodorus a colossal 35.5 m (120 RF) high bronze statue of him, the Colossus Neronis. The statue was placed just outside the main palace entrance at the terminus of the Via Appia This statue may have represented Nero as the sun god Sol, as Pliny saw some resemblance. This idea is widely accepted among scholars, but some are convinced that Nero was not identified with Sol while he was alive. The face of the statue was modified shortly after Nero's death during Vespasian’s reign to make it truly a statue of Sol. to a position next to the Flavian Amphitheater. This building took the name "Colosseum" in the Middle Ages, after the statue nearby, or, as some historians believe, because of the sheer size of the building. The possible remains of Nero's rotating banquet hall and its underlying mechanism were unveiled by archaeologists on September 29, 2009. Today, one of the best-preserved parts of the palace is the block of 50 communal toilets which would have been used by slaves and workers in Nero's time. Pavilion on the Oppian Hill in the newly reopened Domus AureaThe Golden House building (pavilion) on the Oppian Hill (part of the Esquiline Hill) was extended from Nero's earlier Domus Transitoria and designed mainly as a place of entertainment, as shown by the presence of 300 rooms with few sleeping quarters. There were pools in the floors and fountains splashing in the corridors. The building plan is divided into two parts: the western one is simple and classic in design, characterised by perpendicular axes and built around a large rectangular courtyard, which opened towards the valley and the lake. The eastern part is of a much richer design with two of the principal dining rooms flanking an octagonal court, surmounted by a dome with a giant central oculus to let in light. The surviving parts of this floor are preserved only to a height of 30/60 cm, and the thickness of the walls was also reduced to 40/50 cm so that it was a much less monumental body than the lower floor. Decoration and 18th-century Neoclassicism. Pliny the Elder watched it being built and mentions it in his Naturalis Historia. One innovation was destined to have an enormous influence on the art of the future: Nero placed mosaics, previously restricted to floors and gardens, in the vaulted ceilings. Only fragments have survived, but that technique was to be copied extensively, eventually ending up as a fundamental feature of Christian art: the apse mosaics that decorate so many churches in Rome, Ravenna, Sicily, and Constantinople. Frescoes covered every surface that was not more richly finished. The main artist was Famulus (or Fabulus, or Amulius according to some sources). == Esquiline Wing ==

The Octagonal Room The octagonal room belonged to the Esquiline Wing of the Domus Aurea and was a masterpiece of Roman architecture. It overlooked a xystus – a track to watch gymnastic competitions – and the immense park. The lower part of the dome follows a pattern of octagonal segments (like Brunelleschi 's dome of S. Maria del Fiore in Florence), while the upper part assumes a circular shape. Some scholars suggest that many architectural and archaeoastronomical elements of the Octagonal Room served as a precedent for the construction of the Pantheon. This domed room was a triclinium, where the emperor manifested himself as divine, through the effects of light that the dome filtered, assimilating himself to the god Apollo. It was built on the model of the cenatio praecipua rotunda (dining room whose ceiling constantly revolved like the heavens) which Carandini and Fraioli position in the pavilion. The ceiling of the octagonal hall could probably rotate by means of a mechanism created by Celer and Severus and similar to a millstone which, hooked to the uncovered tracks along the edge of the central opening, was moved by slaves. Perfume was sprayed and rose petals were dropped on the assembled diners. According to some accounts, perhaps embellished by Nero's political enemies, on one occasion such quantities of rose petals were dropped that one unlucky guest was asphyxiated (a similar story is told of the emperor Elagabalus). The room was richly decorated with panthers, centaurs, the god Pan, and a sphinx, believed to have been built between 65 and 68 AD. A mythological scene on its North wall earned the room the title of "Sphinx room". Decoration Paintings in the fourth style cover "all visible surfaces" in the room. The painting of the room consists of white backgrounds and poly-chromatic ornamentation. Caggiani, Coccato, Mazzoleni et al. describe the decoration of the barrel vault in detail:The decoration of the barrel vault is arranged within a triple red frame and divided into different compartments by yellow and/or red bands, all bordered by an external perimeter rectangle made of golden-yellow bands with red vegetal ornamental motifs, repeated at the corners in curved bands.Within these compartments, a series of anthromorphic and zoomorphic figures are depicted. The central painting shows a figure armed against a panther, while the remaining show Pan accompanied by centaurs and musical instruments. Beyond the outermost frame, fantastical and real aquatic creatures are seen and the vault is further decorated with ornate vegetal motifs. Pigment and Technique Analysis As part of a larger analytical project, the "Non-destructive analytical studies at Parco Archeologico del Colosseo (Rome, Italy)", the Sphinx room has been subject to analysis of the methods, tools, and materials used to create its paintings. Analysis has been performed both in situ and on micro-fragments from the site. The results of the pigment analysis revealed a common Roman palette of "Egyptian blue, green earths, iron- and lead-based red, orange and yellow, lead white, calcite, [and] carbon black" which allows comparison between the Sphinx Room and other rooms in the Domus Aurea as well as other Roman complexes. Fragment analysis revealed that different painting techniques were employed within the room: yellow, yellow-red, black, and brown pigmented fragments showed the fresco style, while in blue, red, and green fragments a "unique lime paint pictorial layer" was used. == See also ==