Domus Aurea

Built after the great fire of 64 AD on land Nero controversially claimed for himself, the 'Golden House' was an extravagant palace complex whose frescoed vaults later inspired Renaissance artists, including Raphael, who studied its 'grotesque' decoration by candlelight. Later emperors buried it deliberately to erase Nero's memory, which paradoxically helped preserve its painted ceilings underground for centuries. Visits are guided and increasingly built around a virtual-reality reconstruction that overlays the ruined rooms with a digital recreation of how they once looked, since so little decoration survives to see with the naked eye alone. It suits visitors more interested in imagining ancient grandeur than in a purely visual spectacle.