Tour the Esquiline Wing
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The Domus Aurea and its associated property covered the Palatine, Esquiline, and Caelian Hills, as well
as the valley in between. The valley was likely used as an artificial lake. Unfortunately, the Palatine section of the Domus was destroyed. It is speculated that the Palatine Wing, convenintly located near the forum, was the largest. Nero would have performed his official duties in the Palatine Wing. Today, only the Esquiline Wing survives on the cliffs of the Oppian ridge. This wing served as a suburban villa, an artificial recreation of the Italian countryside. The Esquiline Wing is divided into East and West Blocks, with a Pentagonal Court in between. The West Block had two floors, which faced both to the North and South. The entire building was buried by Trajan buried less than a decade after Nero's death. The first floor was excavated in the early twentieth century and is open to the public.
as the valley in between. The valley was likely used as an artificial lake. Unfortunately, the Palatine section of the Domus was destroyed. It is speculated that the Palatine Wing, convenintly located near the forum, was the largest. Nero would have performed his official duties in the Palatine Wing. Today, only the Esquiline Wing survives on the cliffs of the Oppian ridge. This wing served as a suburban villa, an artificial recreation of the Italian countryside. The Esquiline Wing is divided into East and West Blocks, with a Pentagonal Court in between. The West Block had two floors, which faced both to the North and South. The entire building was buried by Trajan buried less than a decade after Nero's death. The first floor was excavated in the early twentieth century and is open to the public.
A reconstruction of the second story of the Esquiline Wing