a, and to the north, landscape gardens might have reached as far as to the Forum of Augustus. Throughout this immense range of space many gardens, pastures, and meadows dotted the landscape, and in the center of Rome, many illustrious casinos and small buildings and baths surrounded an artificial lake. Between the main palace and the Palatine and near the Sacra Via stood a vestibule large enough to hold the one hundred and twenty foot high colossus statue of Nero, and it was so expansive that it had a triple portico a mile long. Though none of these structures and features survived to this day, it is assumed that they were just as stunning and extraordinary as the palace they surrounded. Neros rule over the Roman empire ended abruptly with his death in 68 AD, and it was shortly after when much of his Golden House was destroyed by fires and then completely vanquished by Trajans rule. The artificial lake was filled in and covered by the Flavian Amphitheater, the colossus head was changed to that of the God, Helios, the palace was covered with earth, the meadows and gardens were opened to the public, and the colonnades of the former vestibule was used to store machinery of the Amphitheater. Shortly after 104 AD, the Domus Aurea practically became a fabled myth, and it was not until too long ago when it became a fact once again. The Golden House of Nero was and still is a grand achievement on a architectural, structural, and landscape design scale and will always be hailed as one of the most prominent creations of the early Roman empire. ...
