ARCHEOASTRONOMY IN NERO'S DOMUS AUREA

 The Domus Aurea was the sumptuous palace that the emperor Nero (54-68 AD) built after the famous fire in Rome that was attributed to him. One part incorporated pre-existing imperial palaces, but another was built from on the Celio hill, with enormous substructures.

 Nero proclaimed himself Neos Helios, that is the New Sun god and in the vestibule of the Domus Aurea he erected a colossal statue, 35 meters high, which depicted him as the Sun god, wearing a crown with seven rays on his head.

After his death, the Domus Aurea was destroyed and the Baths of Titus and then of Trajan were built over it, but some rooms have been preserved underneath. Among them is the Octagonal Room, covered by a dome with an oculus, in which there are illuminations that show that the building was astronomically oriented.

The Sun illuminated the Nymphaeum on the north side of the Octagonal Room, with a circle of light similar to that of the Pantheon. This happened just for few days during the year.

The walls were covered with gold and gems and the palace sparkled with light that made it visible from afar. As we see in a fresco in the Villa of Poppea in Oplontis (near Naples),

👉Read the full story in my book «VILLA ADRIANA. ARCHITETTURA CELESTE. I SEGRETI DEI SOLSTIZI» that you can buy here.