Nero's Golden House (Domus Aurea)

Severus and Celer, octagon room, Domus Aurea, Rome, c. 64-68 C.E. 

In Rome, emperor Nero's Golden House (the Domus Aurea), was an expensive looking palace complex which hosted many of the wild parties of Rome's most notorious emperors. In addition to utilizing the finest marble and decorations such as fine wall-painting and rows of columns covered thinly in gold leaf, the building was also a technical astonishment due to its domes that rose high into the air, revolving ceilings, decorative fountains and waterfalls running down the walls. 

In 64 CE there was a highly destructive fire that destroyed large areas of the Aventine and Palatine hills. Nero made up his mind to take the opportunity to build a huge new palace. Even though this choice of building a new palace wasn't in the public interest, it promoted an architectural revolution in Rome. The emperor was already unpopular from accusations of a slow reaction to the fire and the possibility that he started it. To have enough space for the project, he carved into the Oppian hillside for the buildings rear and took large areas of land owned by aristocrats. For the construction of the building, he turned to the engineer Celer and architect Severus, recognized as masters of architecture while Famulus was responsible for the interior decorations and wall paintings. Rather than using concrete for structural purposes, Celer and Severus used this material in new and exciting ways. For instance, they experimented with it in aesthetic modes like making expansive domed spaces. When the entire project of building the palace was finally finished, Nero made known that "Now I can begin to live like a human being".

After Nero's death, his successors wanted to distance themselves from the unpopular emperor, so the building was abandoned and much of its precious marble was cleaned out to be reused somewhere else.  Most of the structure has disappeared, either because it is buried or because it is under the foundations of later builds. The gardens were built over, the lake was drained, and the Colosseum was built on top. In medieval times, the area came to be overgrown and was used to grow vines and vegetables, much more relaxing than what was once the place where loud and immoral partying was hosted. 

References

Cartwright, M. (2014, March 01). Nero's Golden House (Domus Aurea). Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/article/661/ 

Dr. Jessica Leay Ambler, "An introduction to ancient Roman architecture," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed September 13, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/roman-architecture/.