Where in the world have you enjoyed a spin in a revolving restaurant or lounge?
Whether it was in Seattle’s Space Needle, at Mumbai’s Ambassador Hotel, high atop Moscow’s Ostankino Tower, in the Stratosphere above the Las Vegas strip, or here at home in the Equinox at San Francisco’s Hyatt Regency, it is probably safe to assume you thought of it as a modern dining experience …
Well, think again!
Now, Italian archaeologists believe they have accidentally discovered the ruins of Emperor Nero’s fabled revolving dining room after a local workman, doing routine maintenance in the area, broke through the ground and fell in. The room was part of Nero’s Golden Palace on Rome’s Palatine Hill, as described by Roman historian Suetonius in ‘Lives of the Caesars.’
Suetonius did not equivocate when he wrote about the First Century ‘coenatio rotunda’: ‘The chief banqueting room was circular, and revolved perpetually night and day in imitation of the motion of the celestial bodies,’ but other historians have had no way to confirm or deny his story because the whole palace complex was sacked and filled in after the death of the tyrant.
Still, there have always been as many believers as doubters due, in part, to Suetonius’ reputation and the rich detail he provided.
‘All the dining rooms had ceilings of fretted ivory, the panels of which could slide back and let a rain of flowers, or of perfume from hidden sprinklers, fall on his guests.’
According to the same account, the rotating dining room had a diameter of 50 to 60 feet, or more, and was built on top of a 13ft-wide pillar with four spherical supports that allowed it to rotate. The spheres placed under the floor were kept in motion by flowing water though, beyond that, the ancient Roman machinery is not very well understood.
Archaeologist Maria Antonietta Tomei says it was the circular shape of the ruins and the stone spheres that led the team to believe they had found the revolving room. ‘This discovery has no equal among ancient Roman architectural finds,’ she asserted.
One thing has never been in question: the Golden Palace was among the most extravagant projects of an Emperor who defined extravagance and decadence for centuries to come. It consisted of numerous buildings strewn over a ‘country’ landscape covering almost 200 acres, rather than the more-traditional, single palace structure.
In fact, some accounts of the great fire that destroyed Rome in AD 64, suggest that Nero allowed the city to burn simply to make room for his palace complex.
A 120ft high bronze statue of the megalomaniac emperor towered over the entrance. Inside, an amphitheatre and bath complex were provided with fresh, flowing water by a 50-mile aqueduct.
Another near-certainty, Emperor Nero’s guests revolving in this architectural marvel of its time enjoyed one thing denied to diners in the modern equivalents: surrounded by his favorite admirers at banquets that lasted for 12 hours or longer, you can be sure that Rome’s kinkiest ruler made sure the menu included down-and-dirty sex of more varieties than the fare.
But, Nero did not get to enjoy his decorated halls, gold-encrusted ceilings, and obliging guests for very long. The complex was completed in the same year the depraved and unpopular Nero committed suicide rather than face an imminent revolt.
