Roman Emperor's Digs on Public View

March 14, 2008 -- The house where Rome's first emperor lived in before he was crowned has opened this week to the public for the first time since it was discovered nearly half a century ago.

The house is on Palatine Hill, just above what is believed to be the grotto where Romans once worshiped the city's founders, Romulus and Remus. The home features exquisite murals in deep and vibrant shades of red, yellow, green and blue.

Augustus lived there in his youth, before moving to his imperial palace higher on the hill.

Born Gaius Octavius in 63 B.C., the future emperor was named adoptive son and heir of his great-uncle Julius Caesar when he was 18 years old. After the civil wars that followed Caesar's assassination, Gaius Octavius was made emperor in 29 B.C., taking the name Augustus.

He was deified after his death in 14 A.D., and a calendar month -- Sextilis -- was renamed Augustus (August) in his honor.

The architect of the "Pax Romana" (Roman peace), a 200 -year period of peace and prosperity after years of civil war, Augustus was known for his fear of thunder and lightning and for his dislike of ostentation and excess.

"For more than 40 years, he used the same bedroom in winter and summer...If ever he planned to do anything in private or without interruption, he had a [designated] place at the top of the house," the Roman historian and biographer Suetonius wrote in his "Life of Augustus."

Describing the house on Palatine Hill, Suetonius pointed out that the residence "was remarkable neither for size nor elegance, having short colonnades with columns of Alban stone, and rooms without any marble decorations or handsome pavements."

Indeed, despite the vaulted ceilings and painted rooms, the house is less than palatial: Visitors are shown four modest, windowless rooms -- an entrance hall, the Room of the Masks, the Room of the Pines, and a small study -- Augustus' retreat -- on the floor above.