The Beloved of Isis. Nero, the Domus Aurea and Egypt

The exhibition inside the Domus Aurea, conceived and organized by the Colosseum Archaeological Park, curated by Alfonsina Russo, Francesca Guarneri, Stefano Borghini and Massimiliana Pozzi, presents to the general public the links between Rome and Egypt in the first century. A.D. through the figure of the emperor Nero, who established a privileged relationship with the East and Egypt from a young age.

The exhibition itinerary winds through the halls of the imperial palace following a fil rouge that allows you to explore Nero's presence in Egypt and the spread of the Isiac cult in Rome and to discover the monumental spaces of the Domus Aurea - the "Golden House" , the gold of the sun god with whom Nero identified himself according to a vision of an oriental matrix - through an extraordinary opening of the monument that allows visits every day of the week.

The exhibition is divided into two large sections: "Nero's Egypt" and "Egypt in Rome". The visit starts from Gallery III, develops in the complex of the Octagonal Room, reaches the rooms of the Pentagonal Courtyard, passes through the Great Cryptoporticus and the adjacent rooms, reviving Nero's conception of a space in which to admire the works of art. 

The exhibition brings together over 150 works and sees the collaboration of different museums and lenders such as the Egyptian Museum of Turin, the Civic Archaeological Museum of Milan, the Civic Museums of Como (Museo Civico Archeologico "P. Giovio"), the National Archaeological Museum of Florence, the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, the National Roman Museum, the National Museum of Musical Instruments, the Capitoline Superintendency for Cultural Heritage (Capitoline Museums, Centrale Montemartini, Museum of Ancient Sculpture "G. Barracco"), the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the Pompeii Archaeological Park, the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park, the Provincial Museum of Sannio in Benevento, the Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst in Munich.

Photo credits: courtesy of the Colosseum Archaeological Park official site