Domus Aurea, new entrance inaugurated and western sector of Neronian residence reopened

On December 13, 2024, the new entrance to the Domus Aurea inside Gallery XXIV was officially opened to the public, and the western sector of the Neronian residence reopened after years of closure for works dedicated to securing and improving the monument’s accessibility.

Thanks to the new entrance, the tour route is expanded, offering visitors the opportunity to explore the rooms of the Neronian palace, starting from the western sector and reaching the imposing Octagonal Hall. Entrance is through the Neronian portico, which extends along the facade of the building. From here the path leads to the famous rooms of the Yellow Vault Room, which retains Pinturicchio’s name, and the Owl Vault Room. Both rooms have been enhanced by a new lighting system that further emphasizes the site.

The Nymph with Panther from the Uffizi Galleries.

Thanks to the collaboration with the Uffizi Galleries, visitors will be able to admire the statue of the so-called Nymph with Panther, a masterpiece that recalls the connection between Nero and the Ptolemaic-Alexandrian world. The sculpture, which is probably to be identified with the Diana with Pardo seen by Vasari in the Sala delle Nicchie in the Pitti Palace, entered the Medici collections in the mid-16th century and was later placed in the Uffizi. Made of Greek marble between the first and second centuries AD, it is distinguished by the quality and elegance of the drapery that simulates transparent effects. The statue will remain on display at the Domus Aurea until Feb. 9, 2025, perfectly integrated into the architectural space of the palace, according to Nero’s vision of art as an integral part of the living context.

Restorations and technological innovations

In the coming months, the Colosseum Archaeological Park will continue with restoration work on the frescoes in the western sector, made possible by the Integrated Protection System created in the garden above the Domus Aurea. Visitors will have the opportunity to witness the restoration work on Friday, thanks to the “open construction site” initiative.

The new route of the Domus Aurea will be accessible every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the exception of the first Sunday of the month. During the holiday season, from December 26 to January 6, the site will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at the official website of the Colosseum Archaeological Park.

The innovative design of the new entrance takes advantage of the features of Gallery XXIV, distinguishing the interior and exterior space with different flooring: wrought paving for the interior and steel and resin for the exterior. The archaeological evidence of the Neronian portico has been left visible, respecting the original structure and maintaining the permeability of the portico’s intercolumniums.

A distinctive element is artistic lighting: light installations evoke the shape and height of the vanished columns, re-proposing the monumental appearance of the portico as a “colonnade of light.” In addition, metal structures with small projectors evoke the sbatacciaturas of the Trajan’s gallery structures, while wash wall projectors illuminate the portico’s backdrop masonry, enhancing its technical construction features. This intervention integrates home automation to adjust brightness according to the presence of the public, and increases the artistic illumination of the entire western quarter.

Statements

“The Domus Aurea undoubtedly represents one of the most iconic and fascinating monuments of antiquity. For the Colosseum Archaeological Park, the opening of a new entrance and the expansion of the visitor route represent a particularly important achievement as part of an overall strategy to enhance the enjoyment of the extraordinary archaeological heritage of the central area of Rome; a strategy that in recent years has allowed for the opening to the public of new museum spaces and wider and more diversified visitor circuits in the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine, through synergistic excavation, restoration and enhancement projects with renewed educational and lighting apparatus,” said Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park. “With the conclusion of this project, it will be possible to offer the public an even more attractive and exciting vision of the Domus Aurea, which, moreover, will host a rich calendar of free educational activities and extraordinary openings already during the Christmas period and, to follow in the coming months, the re-proposition of cultural events, with outstanding protagonists, dedicated to the nine Muses, so beloved by Divus Nero. The goal is to make also the Domus Aurea, like the other places of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, a living space, open not only to classical culture but also to all expressions of civil society on the subject of contemporary creativity. Finally, I express my heartfelt thanks to the Director of the Uffizi Galleries, Simone Verde, who has allowed the temporary exhibition in the Domus Aurea of one of the most important statues of the Roman-Imperial age belonging to the Florentine collections the so-called Nymph with Panther; sculpture, which, recalling Ptolemaic-Alexandrine cultural influences, particularly celebrated in Nero’s imperial palace, will help to reknit a thread of memory between the public and the history of this exceptional, unique monument.”

“In the contemporary collective imagination, the Uffizi Galleries are considered only as a picture gallery. Yet the Vasari complex, next to the celebrated picture gallery, preserves an equally important collection of more than a thousand marbles from the classical period found, almost in their entirety, in Rome, and arrived in Florence thanks to the collecting of the Medici family,” said Simone Verde, director of the Uffizi Galleries. “The invitation to contribute to the celebration of the new arrangement of the Domus Aurea precisely with one of the gems of our statuary collection was, therefore, a valuable opportunity to recall this little-known ’archaeological’ nature of the Uffizi Galleries and to reaffirm that close link that, for almost five centuries, has united the archaeological heritage of the Urbe to Florence and its artistic history.”

Photo by Simona Murrone

Domus Aurea, new entrance inaugurated and western sector of Neronian residence reopened

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