Domus Flavia

Rome, Italy

The Flavian Palace, normally known as the Domus Flavia, is part of the vast residential complex of the Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It was completed in 92 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus, and attributed to his master architect, Rabirius. The term Domus Flavia is a modern invention used to describe the northwestern section of the Palace designed for public ceremony, reception, and entertainment. It is interconnected with the domestic wing to the southeast, the Domus Augustana. The imposing ruins which flank the southwestern side of the Palace above the Circus Maximus are a later addition built by Septimius Severus; they are the supporting piers for a large extension which completely covered the western slope.