Domus Aurea — Attraction in Rome

Once upon a time, in the ancient city of Rome, there stood a grand and magnificent palace known as the Domus Aurea, or the Golden House. It was built by the infamous Emperor Nero, known for his lavish lifestyle and excessive spending.

The Domus Aurea was unlike any other palace the world had ever seen. It covered over 300 acres and was adorned with precious metals, jewels, and intricate frescoes. It was also surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and artificial lakes.

As soon as one entered the palace, they were greeted by a grand rotunda, with a stunning gold-plated dome that shone in the sunlight. The walls were covered in marble and the floors were adorned with colorful mosaics. The palace was a true testament to Nero's wealth and power.

However, the grandeur of the Domus Aurea was short-lived. After Nero's death, the palace was looted and damaged by his successors. The once magnificent palace was left in ruins, with only a few remnants of its former glory.

Over the years, the ruins of the Domus Aurea were forgotten and buried under other buildings. It wasn't until the 15th century when a young artist stumbled upon the ruins while exploring the area. His name was Raphael and he was amazed by the beauty and grandeur of the palace.

Raphael shared his discovery with his fellow artists and soon, the ruins of the Domus Aurea became a popular spot for artists to study and draw. The intricate frescoes and mosaics inspired many Renaissance artists and their works of art can still be seen in museums around the world today.

In the 18th century, archaeologists began excavating the ruins of the Domus Aurea, revealing its true magnificence to the world once again. Today, visitors can tour the palace and see the remains of its grand rotunda, beautifully decorated rooms, and gardens.

The Domus Aurea may have fallen into ruins, but its legacy lives on. It continues to inspire artists and architects, and reminds us of the opulence and excesses of Ancient Rome. The Golden House may no longer stand tall, but its memory will forever be etched in the...

The Domus Aurea is an incredible experience for anyone with a keen interest in Roman ruins and with a fascination for looking back at lives and works from 2000 years ago.

I took a guided tour in Spanish led by the wonderful Claudia who was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the information she was sharing. Just an excellent tour, a joy to take part.

The Domus is a massive, mostly buried structure that archaeologists are still excavating to uncover and protect its remains from under centuries of rubble. You can see original lavish decorations from Nero’s time and the original layout of the building along with functional additions (plain brick walls) from Trajan. You can see the actual point where they just stopped work on this megalomaniac project because Nero died. You can see a piece of false ceiling there that is still hanging from the walls 2000 years later, with its original fresco on it. You can see the sources of inspiration for Raphael and many other Renaissance artists who may have visited this buried building firsthand. You see directly where Raphael got his inspiration for the decor you see in his rooms in the Vatican. I found all of this amazing and I’m very happy that I visited.

The tour includes a very well done virtual reality experience (with goggles) that immerses you in what the palace must’ve been like originally: full of light, colours, and beauty.

I would recommend it to anyone who is deeply interested in ancient Rome and archaeology. I would not recommend it to somebody who just wants a quick and easy tick box.

Heads up that the tour takes about two hours and it’s fully underground. It is cold even in summer, and dark and humid. So wear warm clothing. I would not recommend going in without guidance because the educational guided tours enrich the experience enormously. Again, this is an active archaeological site and will be for the many...

The Domus Aurea is Nero's Golden House. After the purely coincidental fire destroyed a large part of ancient Rome Nero was able to appropriate the ruins to build his palace complex. This was a ridiculously large (over 300 acres) and ostentatious project, even for the Julian emperors and after his death the palace was largely dismantled and destroyed. The area left now survived as it was filled in with earth to act as foundations for Trajan's new public baths.

The Domus remained hidden until around 1500 years later when a farmer digging a well broke through one of the vaulted ceilings and discovered the intact murals and frescoes. This became an inspiration for a generation of Renaissance artists who visted the rooms and made copies of what they found. This was rather lucky as the paintings have now largely been destroyed after being exposed to air and damp.

The complex is massive and only a small portion is open to the public with varying levels of artwork on display. A lot of it is faded completely and there are areas of damp with no trace of what was there before. There were some rooms with some decent images left though and the sketch books of the 15th century artists may allow some kind of restoration once the structure is stabilised.

The VR element of the tour showed us what the structure could have looked like in Nero's time and included a 'walk' onto the terrace to look over the site of the Colosseum (then an artificial lake) and the pleasure gardens that are now completely built upon. I have to say I preferred Nero's vision.

The tour needs to be booked in advance, even in February it was sold out on the first day we visited but we were lucky enough to have a few days. The guide was fantastic and he spoke excellent English and really bought the...