_Entrance through a gate on the left; one of the custodi speaks
English. Fee, one lira; Sundays, free._
"He completed his palace by continuing it from the Palatine to the
Esquiline, calling the building at first only 'The Passage;' but after
it was burned down and rebuilt, 'The Golden House.' Of its
dimensions and furniture it may be sufficient to say this much:--The
porch was so high that there stood in it a colossal statue of himself
120 feet in height; and the space included in it was so ample that it
had triple porticoes a mile in length, and a lake like a sea,
surrounded with buildings which had the appearance of a city. Within
its area were corn-fields, vineyards, pastures, and woods, containing
a vast number of animals of various kinds, both wild and tame. In
other parts it was entirely overlaid with gold, and adorned with
jewels and mother-of-pearl. The supper-rooms were vaulted, and
compartments of the ceilings, inlaid with ivory, were made to revolve
and scatter flowers, while they contained pipes which shed scents upon
the guests. The chief banqueting room was circular, and revolved
perpetually, night and day, in imitation of the motion of the
celestial bodies. Upon the dedication of this magnificent house Nero
said, in approval of it, 'that he had now a dwelling fit for a man'"
(Suetonius, "Nero").
[Illustration: BATHS OF HADRIAN AND GOLDEN HOUSE OF NERO.]
"Nero, dressed like a harper, was at the top of a tower in his palace,
from whence he diverted himself with the sight of the fire" (Dion
Cassius).
On the left of the entrance are the remains of the ORATORIO OF S.
FELICITA, a Christian church of the sixth century. The rooms on the
left of the PASSAGE, substructions formed by Hadrian, are supposed to
have been used as private habitations in the middle ages. On one of
the piers are two snakes (_see below_). At the end of this Passage a
part of the pavement of the HOUSE OF NERO can be seen. LONG CORRIDOR,
penetrated into by Raphael and Giovanni da Udine, who copied the
frescoes for the Vatican. On the vault are some beautiful arabesque
paintings of flowers, birds, and animals; and on the walls two snakes,
with a basin placed between them. Above them is an inscription, now
almost obliterated, telling us that it was the notice equal to our
"Commit no nuisance."
DVODECIm DEOS IIT DEANAm ET IOVEM
OPTVMVm MAXIMVm HABEAT IRATOS
QUISQUIS HIC MIXERIT AUT CACARIT.
_Retracing our steps_ down the corridor, and crossing some chambers,
we come to the TRICLINIARIUM, or summer banqueting room, with the
winter rooms on each side, having a southern aspect. At the end of
this room there was originally a garden; and in the basin of the
fountain was the porphyry vase now in the circular hall of the Vatican
Museum. Beyond this is the CAVÆDIUM, an open court or garden, from
which the surrounding apartments received their light. It was
surrounded on three sides with columns, and in the centre was a
fountain: it was subsequently occupied by the substruction arches of
the baths. Adjoining is the CORRIDOR OF RHEA SYLVIA, so called from
the fresco representing the conception of Romulus and Remus. In
another room is a representation of Venus and the Doves.