Caligula's purported pleasure garden to go on public display following decade-long excavation
‘It was a very pleasurable place,' says archeologist Giorgia Leoni
A brief reign, a megalomaniac personality and a penchant for debauchery. That's how some would describe him — Roman emperor Caligula, that is.
The excavated remains of an extravagant imperial garden, thought to be one of Caligula's hangouts, is set to open to the public.
Buried beneath the remains of a condemned 19th-century apartment in Rome, the site was excavated between 2006 and 2015. It revealed artifacts thought to be from the time Caligula was in power, between 37 A.D. to 41 A.D.
Those artifacts are now on display below street level in the new Nymphaeum Museum of Piazza Vittorio, which will showcase excavated sections of the garden's mosaics and frescoes.
Sprawled across Rome's Esquiline Hill, the imperial garden called Horti Lamiani was filled with extravagant items for Caligula's amusement, archeologist Giorgia Leoni told As It Happens host Carol Off. She has closely followed the project for several years, and painted a vivid picture of the garden during the emperor's rule.
"There were a lot of animals around the garden and also people walking about inside … with fountains and buildings, and very precious statues and decorations," said Leoni "So it [was] a very pleasurable place."
"You have to imagine very opulent decorations with marbles coming from all over the Mediterranean and mosaic decorations on the floor of these buildings," she said.
The dig also revealed the bones of animals such as lions, tigers, bears, peacocks and ostriches, Leoni said.
Caligula was fascinated by Greek culture and paid close attention to the decorative elements featured in the garden, she said.
"He loved going around with friends and other people coming from the high parts of the society of Rome to show his opulence and his power through this kind of decoration," said Leoni.
But some have raised questions about whether the artifacts can be definitively traced back to Caligula during his brief reign.
"We must be cautious in the way that we interpret archaeology," wrote University of British Columbia professor emeritus Anthony Barrett in a letter to Salon.
"The excavations that have recently taken place are quite spectacular, but no link with Caligula has in fact been established," added Barrett, who is also the author of Caligula: The Corruption of Power.
Regardless of whether the unearthed artifacts can be traced directly back to Caligula's reign or not, they provide detailed insight into the lavish lifestyles of Roman elites two millennia ago.
In a press release issued by the Special Superintendency of Rome, Daniela Porro, Rome's special archaeological superintendent, said that the museum "is an exceptional scientific and archaeological result," that reveals "one of the mythical places of the ancient capital … one of the garden residences loved by the emperors."
Written by Tahiat Mahboob. Interview produced by Sonya Varma.
