Nero's Golden House
After the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, the Roman Emperor Nero took advantage of the space where many buildings had burned down to build himself a new palace right in the middle of downtown Rome, which he called the Golden House (Domus Aurea). We know about the Golden House in two ways. The Roman historian Suetonius describes it for us, and also archaeologists have found it and excavated it (and you can visit it in Rome today).
The Golden House was certainly very luxurious. For example, it had an
eight-sided dining room with a ceiling that was painted with the moon
and stars. On nice evenings, according to Suetonius,
you could open up the ceiling so that the real sky would be above you
while you were eating.
In front of the Golden House, Nero put an enormous statue of himself,
covered with gold. It was
called the Colossus, because it was so big. The Roman Colosseum
is named after it.
