Nero's Golden House 2001
Distributed by Seventh Art Releasing, 1614 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; 323-845-1455
Producer n/a
Directed by Phil Grabsky
DVD, color, 50 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Animation, architecture, European Studies, History, Biography
Date Entered: 05/29/2009
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication, University of California, Santa BarbaraThis video discusses and recreates through archaeological evidence and state-of-the-art animation technology the Domus Aurea of the Emperor Nero, or Nero's Golden House. The 26-year-old Nero began construction of this huge complex soon after the infamous burning of Rome. It was a vast complex of palaces, temples, and pavilions set in 200 acres of parkland. It became renowned after its construction as a place for sexual perversion and violence, as Nero held many of his infamous parties and festivities there. So hated by the Roman populace was this edifice, that after Nero's death the lake was paved over to build the famous Roman Coliseum. Very few rooms survive today, but modern-day technology has been able to reconstruct what the structure might have looked like. This video examines Nero's reign, and how the construction of this complex affected architecture in the ancient and medieval worlds.