Gardens of Lucullus
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The Gardens of Lucullus were the setting for an ancient villa on the Pincian Hill on the edge of Rome; they were laid out by Lucius Licinius Lucullus about 60 BC. The Villa Borghese gardens still cove
Horti of ancient Rome
Plan from Forma Urbis Romae (Lanciani)
Messalina
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Valeria Messalina was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful a
Gardens of Lucullus
…ready to flay Marsyas) which the Medici removed to Florence was found in this garden. The gardens became the favourite playground of Claudius's Empress Messalina (after she forced the then owner, Valerius Asiaticus, to commit suicide – Tac. Annals XI.1), and was the site of her execution in 48 AD on the orders…
Statue of Messalina holding her son Britannicus, at the Louvre, ca 45 CE
Messalina in a coin minted in Crete, c. AD 42
A bust believed to be of Messalina, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
Messalina guides the dragon chariot in the triumph of Claudius. Sardonyx cameo plaque in enamelled frame. (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)