The Domus Tiberiana is the first real imperial palace, built on the north-western slope of the Palatine Hill in the 1st century AD. In addition to the residential quarters, the palace included vast garden areas, places of worship, rooms for the praetorian guard to protect the Emperor, as well as a service district facing the Roman Forum.

This side of the Palatine Hill was favoured by Roman aristocratic families for the construction of their houses because of its easily accessible position from the valley of the Roman Forum, as attested by literary sources and confirmed by excavations.

The first phase attested by archaeological investigations is the Neronian phase, datable to the aftermath of the fire of 64 AD, i.e. at the time of the erection of the Domus Aurea.

The palace underwent several extensions and renovations over time, the most important of which were undertaken by the emperors Domitian (81-96 A.D.) and Hadrian (117-138 A.D.), until it reached an extension of about 4 hectares.

The use of the imperial palace continued until the 7th century, when it was chosen as papal seat by John VII.

After centuries of neglect, in the mid-16th century, the Farnese family built the Horti Farnesiani on the scenic terraces of the Domus Tiberiana, a splendid garden of delights intended to house a new court.

THE VISITING ROUTE

The new visiting route, which runs into the depths of the imperial palace, past the mighty arches of the service district, is embedded in the hollow substructures of the north front, and is divided into seven exhibition rooms, four of which are interconnected, which offer a privileged view of the Roman Forum, while two multimedia rooms on the opposite side house a documentary and holographic reconstruction of the monument. A tactile route accompanies the visitor. As the rooms unfold, the visitor experiences the extraordinary architecture that has recently been restored, the facilities with the imperial baths and related infrastructures, the stucco-decorated surfaces that embellish the so-called Caligula Bridge, with paintings depicting subjects from court life in the background.
The exhibition is arranged according to a thematic vision within the rooms of the substructural quarter from the Hadrianic period, which was intended to house services, retail shops and presumably also administrative activities.