The Associated Press
ROME - A 90-square-foot
patch of the ceiling of the Golden Palace, Nero's fabled residence
once covered in pearls and ivory, has collapsed, Rome's superintendent
for archaeological heritage said Monday.
The ceiling
fell after closing time Saturday, a day of heavy rain in Rome.
No one was injured.
Infiltration
of water and tree roots burrowing through the structure were endangering
the monument, said Adriano La Regina, Rome's superintendent for
archaeological heritage. It should be open to the public starting
Wednesday.
The Golden
Palace, known to many by its Latin name Domus Aurea, has become
one of the capital's more popular tourist attractions after reopening
in June 1999 following 18 years of closure due to worries about
structural safety.
The sprawling
complex, which occupies parts of four of Rome's seven ancient
hills, lay under tons of dirt in the bowels of a hill for centuries,
before coming to light 500 years ago when Renaissance scholars
began researching the imperial period.
Part of its
splendor was a lake which, under later emperors, was drained to
become the foundations of the Colosseum.
But Nero hardly
had time to enjoy one of history's most fabled residences. The
Domus Aurea was completed in 68 A.D., the year he committed suicide.
The Golden
Palace's $3 million restoration took three years, a year less
than Nero's architects took to build it.
The 1999 reopening
was a positive step forward after decades of dismal setbacks for
Italy's cultural patrimony, which has suffered from the effects
of pollution and traffic, and has often been neglected because
of a chronically tight government budget for repairs and upkeep.
Other parts
of Rome's ancient heritage have had a difficult time lately. Last
month, part of the Aurelian wall ringing the city collapsed, also
after heavy rainfall.
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