The palace's artificial lake had dominated the area where the Colosseum now stands.
68, the palace complex was put to other uses in the public interest, with some parts torn down and replaced with new buildings.
The Domus Aurea (Golden House) symbolized private imperial power. 'When Nero unveiled plans for a huge new palace, the Golden House (complete with a revolving dining room and perfume dispensers) which would gobble up huge parts of the city, some began to speculate he had started the fire himself to make way for the vanity project,' All About History, a Live Science sister publication, reported. With large areas of land decimated, Nero seized the opportunity to build himself a grand palace over 200 acres (81 hectares) of land.
The fire raged for six days, destroying much of the city and leaving only four of Rome's 14 districts untouched, according to the Roman historian Tacitus.
