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64 AD: the great fire of Rome

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after the fire, Nero expropriated 300 acres of downtown real estate to build his private Golden House

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dug an artificial lake

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only one part remains today on the Esquiline hill, which is why it is called the Esquiline wing

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dozens of rooms around a five-sided courtyard

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octagonal room

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the single-most important room in Roman architecture

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a series of radiating alcoves, but much larger than the ones we saw in the frigidaria at Pompeii or in the thermal bath at Baia, and each one different

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represents a break from the tyranny of the rectangle

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creates vistas in every direction

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fully realizes the technical and expressive and potentiality of Roman cement

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*** switches emphasis from solids to voids, from walls and roofs to the insubstantial space they enclose and shape

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*** light now plays a key role, natural light that creates drama as well as illuminates

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*** the heralds the Roman architectural revolution

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quote from Nero when it was finished: "At last, I am going to be housed like a human being."

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architects were Severus and Celer [kell-AIR]

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this palace had a number of gimmicks

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125-foot statue of Nero himself

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assimilated to the sun god Sol

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done in bronze by Zenodorus

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dining room

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coffered ceilings would drop fragrances and flower petals onto you as you dined

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bathroom

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gave you a choice of seawater or saltwater, or water from the sulfurous springs of Tivoli

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banqueting room

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ceiling that revolved with the heavenly bodies

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paintings by Fabullus

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referred to as "Fabullus' prison" because it would take a lifetime to paint paintings for all the rooms

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series of bridges that carry water from one part of the palace to another

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much brick because they realized stone burned to easily

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stuccoed over and painted

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Romans because to use brick exposed but not yet in the first century