Discovered beneath the earth are remnants of this imperial park: rich marble floors, pavilions, fountains and vibrant frescoes. The archaeological evidence in the Horti Lamiani shows that he was a debauched playboy moonlighting as an over-the-top decorator, the prince of glitz of his day. Relics now on view at the new Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio. The wall is all that remains of Villa Palombara. From the bowels of Piazza Vittorio, a monumental staircase that connected the terracing system has re-emerged, and here it is easy to imagine that Caligula was walking enjoying the spectacle of a palace built on the Hellenistic and oriental model , which combined architectural splendor and decorative flair, with the virtuosity of nymphaeums, fountains and water games.. The treasures included the Lancellotti Discobolus, now housed at the National Museum of Rome; the Esquiline Venus and a bust of Commodus depicted as Hercules, now at the Capitoline Museums. For that, rent the movie. Until the 4th century AD, when the Horti were abandoned, their buildings with precious marbles and statues, the temples, gardens, squares and groves made up a dreamlikeenvironment, completed by the presence of wild animals and exotic plants. A marble bust of Caligula on display in Palazzo Massimo in Rome. There were certainly orgies. Dunn tells the New York Times that having the old pleasure garden on display may provide the public with a new window into Caligulas life. Priceless works of art: find them in Romes museums. Bones of lions, bears and ostriches, but also deer and fawns. Buried for centuries beneath Romes streets, the remains of the lavish Horti Lamiani will be visitable by the public this spring. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Among the stunning examples of ancient Roman artistry are elaborate mosaics and frescoes, a marble staircase, capitals of colored marble and limestone, and an imperial guards bronze brooch inset with gold and mother-of-pearl. Its worth noting, however, that much of what modern scholars know about the emperor was written by historians who disliked him and may have distorted the record. With the Esquiline Hill in the midst of a building boom, the Italian archaeologist Rodolfo Lanciani nosed around freshly excavated construction sites and uncovered an immense gallery with an alabaster floor and fluted columns of giallo antico, considered the finest of the yellow marbles. Your Privacy Rights From classic ballet to contemporary dance, Rome is always moving. Only recently have the gardens of Caligula in Rome been excavated and now displayed to the public in the Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio (under a mixed-use apartment and office building). At present only local visitors from the Campania region of Italy can visit the museum. After all, the mysterious doesn't always have to be serious. Every epoch has left its mark here, starting from the Julio-Claudian period, when Caligula trasformed the Horti into an ante-litteram Domus Aurea, up to the Severans, who were responsible for the latest transformations of the very luxurious rooms: with its three thousand objects on display and thanks to reconstructions and videos, the museum tells tell extraordinary stories, painting a vivid picture of wealth and opulence in the empires capital but also of the real life. Historian Daisy Dunn told the New York Times, The frescoes are incredibly ornate and of a very high decorative standard. Unfortunately, Caligula didnt have much time to enjoy it himself he was assassinated at age 28 by officers of the Praetorian Guard, senators, and courtiers. It is not hard to imagine animals, some caged and some running wild, in this enchanted setting.. Now some of those ruins have been unearthed for good, and the organization owning the property (Enpam, indeed) has decided to turn part of their headquarters into a museum. Adobe Stock. Now it returns with a fresh lease of life as a permanent display space for the rich finds of Pompeii, stretching from the Samnite era (4th century BCE) to 79CE. He humiliated husbands by consorting with their wives midmeal. Anyone can read what you share. Caligula, officially known as Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, is said to have inherited this extravagant property from the previous emperor Tiberius. Evidence suggests that after Caligulas violent death he was hacked to bits by his bodyguards the house and garden survived at least until the Severan dynasty, which ruled from A.D. 193 to 235. But even without that, it is difficult to envision him as a good emperor. The lush gardens are evoked by flowerpots. The move could prevent any such sale. The latest excavation of the horti unfolded under the detritus of the residences, which had been evacuated in the 1970s in the wake of a building collapse. He's been published in The New York Times" and "Huffington Post and has co-authored numerous collections of trivia, puzzles and humor. The vast residential compound spread out on the Esquiline Hill, one of the seven hills on which the city was originally built, in the area around the current Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Everything you can imagine. Download Nymphaeum of Alexander Severus at Piazza Vittorio. Malcolm McDowell as Caligula in the smutty 1979 biopic by Bob Guccione. Tourism creates up to 13 percent of the nations GDP. Earlier this month, it announced that the pleasure gardens of the infamous Roman emperor Caligula would open in Rome. Italy has never wanted for pleasure palaces. What all of this does for Caligulas seemingly irredeemable reputation is an open question. But even the freaky older man was spooked by the young Caligula. A new home in Los Angeles is hitting the market with a $350 million price tag. The pension company that owns the building, Enpam, invested $3.5 million in the archeological dig, which was carried out while a new office building was being constructed above the site. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Terms of Use Stock Photo and explore similar images at Adobe Stock. The Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio, as it will be known, is the product of an archaeological dig which started in 2006 when a 19 th century apartment complex was demolished. I doubt these new discoveries will do much to rehabilitate his character. I doubt these new discoveries will do much to rehabilitate his character, she says. The Museum Store is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and open late until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. But they should open up new vistas on his world, and reveal it to be every bit as paradisiacal as he desired it to be. This spring, Italy is planning to inaugurate the new Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio, which will showcase artifacts associated with the Horti Lamiani pleasure garden beloved of the Roman. Attractions.io announces new partnership with Roarr! Caligulas Horti Lamiani were significant in the emperors life, and death. Serlorenzi caught the spirit, saying she couldnt wait for the opening. This spring, Italy is planning to inaugurate the newNymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio, which will showcase artifacts associated with theHorti Lamianipleasure garden beloved of the Roman emperorCaligula. The empires most expensive colored marblethe porphyry that gave us imperial purple, giallo antico, beige breccia, white Greekcreated a kaleidoscopic perimeter for the terrace gardens. Greek theater masks hung from the colonnade, and the columns, candelabras, and capitals were embellished with marble oak leaves or wrapped in marble ivy. With the name of Museo Ninfeo, Enpam has established a new underground archaeological site which is built around the ruins that were underneath the palazzo in the first place: the archaeological dig is the Nymphaeum (hence the name of the new museum) of the Horti Lamiani, a lavish complex with gardens (the "horti"), temples and an opulent mansion The subterranean Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio is set to open this spring following a $3.5 million excavation. Ground was broken for the Nymphaeum Museum in 2017. His What in the World! podcast is a fun look at the latest weird and paranormal news, strange sports stories and odd trivia. The subterranean Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio is set to open this spring following a $3.5 million excavation. Archaeologists call it the Domus Aurea of Caligula. The emperors bathhouse, in particular, was highly ornate, featuring marble sourced from all around the Mediterranean. But thats exactly what happened at one corner of the citys biggest square. itinerary explore a small but evocative section of the gardens and winds around the remains of a large square with a nymphaeum, showing its . Roman karma? The excavation has returned an enormous amount of fragments of pottery and other finds, including marble, painted plaster, bones of domestic animals, lions, fawns and ostriches, oysters, shells. With the name of Museo Ninfeo, Enpam has established a new underground archaeological site which is built around the ruins that were underneath the palazzo in the first place: the archaeological dig is the Nymphaeum (hence the name of the new museum) of the Horti Lamiani, a lavish complex with gardens (the horti), temples and an opulent mansion that were originally built by consul Lucius Aelius Lamia (lamiani). Animal bones in one of the hallway containers at the Nymphaeum Museum. He couldnt even enjoy it in death -- his sisters (some of whom he was accused of having sex with) dragged his body there to honor him, but had to burn it to protect it from avenging citizens. In 2006, excavations began beneath the 19th-century office building located on the Esquiline Hill, across which the original property would have extended. It comes stocked with its own art collection. Scholars have long debated whether Caligula, officially known as Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, was the sadistic lunatic described by his initial biographers or a victim of a post-assassination demonization campaign that gave him antiquitys worst bum rap. This spring, after a nine-year excavation, it is expected to open to the public for the first time, as the Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio. Italy relies heavily on its tourism industry. When Caligula succeeded him it is rumored that Caligula and the Praetorian Guard prefect Macro hastened the death of Tiberius by smothering him with a pillow he moved into the main house. She has written for JSTOR Daily, the Daily Beast, the Boston Globe, HuffPostand Vice, among others. The imperial gardens, originally known as the Horti Lamiani, now lie below street level in Rome. (Photos here. Plugins. Declared emperor at age 24, Caligula started suffering from a severe illness just seven months into his reign. A New Years tradition in Rome: a plunge in the Tiber! We want to hear from you! Here stood once a sector of the Horti Lamiani, a lavish and vast pleasure garden built by the consul Lucius Aelius Lamia at the beginning of the 1st century AD. Old school vibe from the very beginning is the only way to describe the Esquilino neighborhood. Around 4.2 million of the population is employed in the sector. The frescoes are incredibly ornate and of a very high decorative standard, noted Dr. Dunn, whose book In The Shadow of Vesuvius is a dual biography of Pliny the Elder a contemporary of Caligulas and his nephew Pliny the Younger. This is a BETA experience. Managed by Italys Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism, the museum will display elements of the house and garden including a marble staircase and opulent frescoes. Italys Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism (MiBACT) plans to open the gardens of the infamous Roman emperor Caligula to the public. Subscribe today and save! It re-opened in 1948 to coincide with the second centenary of the excavation of Pompeii yet disaster struck again in 1980 when it was once again damaged, this time by a devastating earthquake. Advertising Notice ARCHAEOLOGY FANS, REJOICE. The ruins of Caligula's imperial gardens are now on view at the new Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio. He significantly expanded the emperors residence, and he brought from Egypt the obelisk that today graces St. Peters Square. Gardens animated by terraces connected by stairs, exotic gardens, pavilions covered with marble from all over the Mediterranean and brightly colored paintings. Meticulously researched sketches of the Horti Lamiani for mural depictions of the garden that will go in the Nymphaeum Museum. Caligula moved in in 37 CE but didnt get to spend much time in debauchery there before his untimely yet inevitable demise. Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism (MiBACT) plans to open the gardens of the infamous Roman emperor Caligula to the public. Mary Beard, a professor of classics at Cambridge University, posited that while Caligula might have been assassinated because he was a monster, it is equally possible that he was made into a monster because he was assassinated. It was a great place for parties, Mirella Serlorenzi, the director of excavations for Italys culture ministry, told me as we stood in what was once the gardens piazza. Italy is clearly looking to the future, capitalising on its rich history with other attractions aimed at the tourist sector. The classicist Daisy Dunn said the finds were even more extravagant than scholars had anticipated. It re-opened in 2016 as a visitor centre and held temporary exhibitions. At that point the 24-year-old Caligula took control of the empire. Images courtesy The Archeological Park of Pompeii. [The Wall Street Journal], A painting of Tintin could set a new auction recordfor comic art in an upcoming Paris. Caligula moved in in 37 CE but didnt get to spend much time in debauchery there before his untimely inevitable... Would open in Rome what all of this imperial park: rich floors! To open this spring following a $ 350 million price tag Photo and explore similar images at Adobe.! 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