Built on Rome’s Palatine Hill in 81–87 AD as Emperor Domitian’s official residence, this vast palace became the center of imperial life for later emperors and remained the official imperial home until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Designed by Rabirius over earlier structures, it joined public and private functions in linked zones now known as the Domus Flavia, the Domus Augustana, and a long sunken garden called the Stadium of Domitian. Later rulers modified and extended the complex, but it long endured as a powerful architectural expression of Roman emperors’ union of household, ceremony, and government in the capital.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain