The Great Fire of Rome

A bust of the emperor Nero (r. 54-68), Capitoline Museums

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On July 18th 64 CE, a fire broke out in the Circus Maximus. The fire raged for six days and by the time the flames were finally extinguished, 10 of Rome’s 14 districts had suffered serious damage.

The fire came to be known as the Great Fire of Rome (Incendium Magnum Romae). While ancient historians blamed the infamous emperor Nero (r.  54-68) for the conflagration, most modern historians do not take this view.

​And yet in Rome a pyromaniac is still known as a nerone (Nero in Italian).