Emperor Nero was famous for his licentiousness and love of luxury. One of his ideas was to commission the construction of the famous “Golden House” (the so-called Domus Aurea). This investment was met with huge objections and unpopularity from the Romans, mainly due to the high costs associated with, among others, the shocking splendour of the decor. Due to this state of affairs, the project was probably never completed.
The dining rooms had ivory vaults, with movable tiles covering the openings through which flowers and perfumes could be poured from above on the diners. The ceiling of the main dining room was a dome, rotating slowly, day and night, like the heavenly vault (the power of slaves was naturally used). There were baths to which both salty sea water and sulfur water from the springs of Albula were supplied in abundance. Nero was said to have said the following words about him: “at last beginning to be housed like a human being”1. Ancient descriptions and remains discovered during excavations have survived our times.
