Yesterday’s opening of the Vigna Barberini, a 110 x 150 meter artificial terrace on the north-east corner of the Palatine Hill, allows visitors to view the Colosseum from a previously hidden angle and to see the remains of what is believed to have been Nero’s revolving banqueting hall, mentioned by Suetonius in “Lives of the Caesars” [c. 121 AD]. The terrace derives its name because it stands on agricultural land which belonged to the Barberini family in the seventeenth century. The podium of Eligabalo’s Temple is also on this site.
This important architectural discovery was made during recent routine maintenance work on an area of the Palatine which has been the scene of numerous excavations. This time work on opening up the area and making it safe took only 40 days and cost 90,000 euros.
The banqueting hall was where Nero, who ruled from 54 AD – 68 AD, entertained VIPs. Rome’s Superintendent of Archaeology, Angelo Bottini, said that the emperor was like the sun, with people revolving around him. His dining room, in turn, was reputed to revolve day and night, mimicking the sky. Suetonius describes the room’s ceiling as having ivory panels which slid back so that flowers and perfumes could be showered upon the guests below. Nero, however, did not enjoy the room, in his sprawling Domus Aureo or Golden Palace for long, as it was completed in the very year in which he committed suicide during a revolt.
You can visit the Vigna Barberini terrace without booking or paying extra on your Palatine ticket.
Entrepreneurs and restaurateurs around the world are already planning restaurants themed on the Nero banqueting hall. Let’s hope these don’t turn out to be a fiddle!
