Discover the private theater of Roman Emperor Nero a stone’s throw from the Vatican in Rome | Science and the planet

It’s a very important find, say archaeologists who have been working for more than a year excavating the future masonry pit. The Theater of Nero was described in books thousands of years old by Roman historians such as Pliny the Elder and Tacitus, but its location has remained unknown until now. According to archaeologists, this is a special place, because Nero may have performed here himself and prepared for a public appearance.

“Although there is no evidence that this could have been the case, Pliny the Elder and Tacitus remember Nero performing in a theater, which we believe is one of these buildings,” said Marzia de Minto, who led the archaeological investigation at the site. Leads to the Scientific American website.

Nero ruled from AD 54 to AD 68, and two thousand years after his death, he became famous as one of the most brutal Roman emperors, who persecuted Christians on a massive scale. He is also said to have played a musical instrument during the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, according to ongoing, but most likely incorrect, stories. Evil tongues even claimed that he started the fire to make way for a huge palace.

However, according to historians, Nero was also very popular among ordinary Romans, especially in the early years of his reign. He had a passion for music, dance, and theater and loved performing himself. His position made untenable by the military mutinies, he would say “what an artist would go with me!” before ordering his secretary to kill him.

Excavations began in Rome about two years ago, just a stone’s throw from the Vatican. Archaeologists are convinced that it is Nero’s theater after they found high-quality building materials and artwork. Moreover, the land of ruins belonged to Julia Agrippina, mother of Nero and granddaughter of the first Roman emperor Augustus.