![]() ![]() However, we do not know how far the Domus Transitoria project progressed before the great fire of 64 ce. 38), while others were of quality sufficient for Nero’s use. Some existing properties were seized for the Domus Transitoria, including using military equipment to eliminate structures that stood in the way (Suet. If the Domus Transitoria linked all of his holdings, Nero could transition from his urban palace by the forum to his rural gardens without ever leaving his own property, which would give the Domus Transitoria luxuria superior to other patricians, who had to make extended journeys to get to their rural villas. Long before Nero, suburban villas were the most conspicuous venue for expressing luxuria, which the Gardens of Maecenas already did for Nero ( Tac. The most distant property Nero wanted to link with the Domus Transitoria was the Gardens of Maecenas, a villa two kilometers northeast of the Palatine, by the Servian city walls. These defined a well-established type: square in design, with the main rooms facing into a large colonnaded central courtyard. This was literally palatial, based on grand Hellenistic palaces such as the royal palace at Vergina. The core was the residence of Tiberius and Caligula on the Palatine. Nero’s initial intention for the Domus Transitoria was to link together his already considerable dwellings. 31), mentioned, but not described, in several ancient sources. This was the Domus Transitoria (house of passage, Suet. With a free hand at that point ( 60–62 ce), Nero set out to create a palace to exceed all others in scale, luxuria and setting. The Esquiline Villa was the last standing element of the Domus Aurea, buried under the Baths of Trajan after another urban conflagration in 104 ce. 69–79 ce), who sought to erase Nero’s memory. After Nero, systematic obliteration of the Domus Aurea began with Vespasian (r. The palatine core is largely unknown to us, but the vast parklands created to the east of the forum area include a fine villa on the Esquiline Hill that bespeaks a spectacular new standard both for architectural design in vaulted Roman concrete and in decoration. Given its enormous scale, the Domus Aurea may not have been fully completed in just four years, but at least part of it was finished, most likely the core of the residence, on the Palatine Hill, near the forum, and Nero did move in. “Domus Aurea” refers to the second phase, after the fire. This was called the Domus Transitoria, which was interrupted by the great fire of 64 ce. 15.38–40 and 42) describe the construction. Ancient literary sources on the Domus Aurea are abundant, albeit not wholly reliable or fair to Nero. The Domus Aurea (Golden House) was the opulent residence of the emperor Nero ( r.
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