muralgirl

archaeologicalnews:

Notorious for being a cruel megalomaniac tyrant who persecuted early Christians, had his stepbrother, two of his wives and even his own mother murdered, Rome’s fifth emperor, Nero, has never been held dear in Roman history.

In fact, he has been accused of nearly destroying Rome, itself, by allegedly setting the Great Fire in 64 A.D. that devastated the city.

Now tourists can tour his first palace.

The remains of the magnificent estate on the Palatine hill where the emperor lived in the first years of his reign, will open to the public at the end of the summer,  Italian authorities announced at the opening of a major exhibition on the controversial emperor.

Stretching for about 1.2 miles along key archaeological sites of ancient Rome, the  exhibition, which runs until Sept. 18, aims to show the many faces of Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (37 - 68 A.D. ).

Nero became emperor at just age 17 in 54 A.D. After his people took up arms against him, Nero fled Rome and stabbed himself in the throat before he could be arrested. He was 31. Read more.

END OF THE SUMMER?

And knowing how these things tend to work, it will probably be closed again by the time I get back there next year. Like the freaking House of the Griffins which was open for a blink of an eye.

(via lostinhistory)