THE BELOVED OF ISIS. NERO, THE DOMUS AUREA AND EGYPT

“The Beloved of Isis. Nero, the Domus Aurea and Egypt” is the exhibition conceived and organized by the Colosseum Archaeological Park for the extraordinary spaces of the Domus Aurea in Rome. Curated by Alfonsina Russo, Francesca Guarneri, Stefano Borghini and Massimiliana Pozzi, the exhibition can be visited from 22 June 2023 to 14 January 2024.

The exhibition represents an important opportunity to present new and suggestive aspects of the history of ancient Rome to the general public, in particular the link between Rome and Egypt in the first century A.D. through the figure of an emperor, Nero, who established a special relationship with the Orient and Egypt from a young age.

The exhibition itinerary winds through the rich halls of the Domus Aurea. Alongside the important archaeological works, multimedia installations animate the entrance and the walls of the octagonal room of the Domus Aurea, contextualizing the exhibition narrative and enriching it with ancient suggestions.

At the entrance, the first audiovisual installation by Karmachina transports visitors back in time: in an evocative game of overlapping and echoes, actors’ voices read passages in the original language that inform us of the bond between Nero and the Orient; entering the octagonal room, a large video projection presents us with the city of Alexandria; in the niches, immersive video projections allow us to take an “archaeological walk” in the times of File and Dendera, thanks to the virtual architectural reconstructions of Altair4 Multimedia; in the last niche, the video projection reconstructs the bas-relief of the temple of File representing the Roman emperor bringing gifts to the deities of the Egyptian pantheon.