NERO’S GOLDEN HOUSE

“excellent history” – Independent on Sunday

“an absorbing portrait” – Sunday Times

“A ravishing, eye-poppingly gorgeous, visually rich documentary that uses lavish computer graphics, mines a rich vein of Hollywood films and popular songs for illustration and switches from the frescoes of classical Rome to the hustle of the modern city’s streets” – Radio Times

Rome had burnt to a cinder but the 26 year-old Emperor Nero turned this tragedy into a triumph by ordering the construction of the grandest, most ostentatious building on earth – the Domus Aurea or Golden House.

From the ashes of central Rome rose a vast complex of palaces, pavilions and temples set in 200 acres of parkland. The Golden House was a creation of great beauty but became a place renowned for violence and sexual perversion where the infamous emperor would satisfy his darkest desires. So hated was this place that, after Nero’s death, his lake was deliberately paved over to allow the construction of the Coliseum. Nero’s Golden House was an audacious project – unheard of before and unequalled since. Today, a few rooms survive to remind us of its former sinister glory.

Combining new archaeological evidence, comprehensive historical research and high-end CGI this film reconstructs for the viewer the unparalleled wonders of Nero’s Golden House. This visually bold and exciting film exposes the man behind the myth exploring just who the real Nero was and what exactly went on in his notorious building.

Written & directed by Phil Grabsky