The Imperial Palace
The remains of the palace where both Nero and Caligula were born
From the latter days of the Roman republic and onwards during the entire period of the empire, Anzio (just south of Rome, Italy) or , as it was then known, was the preferred country retreat for rich and important Romans who embellished both the city and the surrounding countryside with many beautiful residences. The most famous “vacation property”, however, was the Imperial Palace, also known as the Villa of Nero, which has been used by all emperors up to the Severian emperors in the 3rd century BCE.
The palace was enormous and ran about 850 yards along the coast. It is said to have had a footprint of about 3 times that of Buckingham Palace.Antium was also the birthplace of both Caligula and Nero who therefore provided the city with special privileges.
The story of how Nero became Emperor is full of intrigue. After falling out of favour with the Emperor, Caligula, Nero’s father, a famous politician, was forced to commit suicide by Caligula who himself was assassinated by Claudius. Claudius became Emperor and after marrying Nero’s mother (Agrippina) adopted Nero as his own son. Supposedly Nero’s mother and the Emperor had a big falling out and Claudius was very quickly, and suspiciously, poisoned with mushrooms, leaving Nero as Emperor at the age of 16. Initially Nero was dominated by the “advice” of his mother but their relationship was fraught with conflict.
Emperor Nero enlarged and decorated his own palace in Antium, including building of a theatre, and also established nearby a “colonia” of veterans of the Praetorian Guard. He also built a new harbour. Meanwhile the power struggle between Nero and his mother reached its climax when he arranged for her murder.
Many Romans believed the Great Fire of Rome in 64 BCE was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned new palace. It is claimed that Nero used Christians as scapegoats for the fire and persecuted them badly. It is said that Nero was at his palace in Antium whilst Rome burnt.
Whilst lots of important artefacts have been found both at this palace and others in the area what remains is really no more than a ruin which has suffered the ravages of both robbing of building materials and shelling and bombing in WW2. On the top of the sea cliffs next to the city’s 19th century (but still active) lighthouse the massive walls rarely extend up to more than 30 courses above ground level. As the palace extended over the cliff to the sea, the remains on the beach side are much better preserved but hardly impressive. What is impressive however is the scale of the structure extending a long way along the coastline with evidence of an extent over 300 yards inland. It takes little imagination to appreciate the scale and the degree of wealth and power that it represented.
Know Before You Go
In October 2024 the site was "Temporarily" closed for safety reasons but what can be seen from the outside is still worth a visit.
Just to the SE of the palace, overlooking the coast is a bronze statue of Nero. Inaugurated in 2018 it may be the only statue in the world that actually celebrates Nero, who still gets a bad press. But the community of Anzio remember him as someone who helped their city greatly.
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