Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Entry Vestibule
Impressed?That'stheidea.ThiswasthegrandentrytoDiocletian'slivingquarters,meantto
wow visitors. Emperors were believed to be gods. Diocletian called himself “Jovius”—the
son of Jupiter, the most powerful of all gods. Four times a year (at the changing of the sea-
sons), Diocletian would stand here and overlook the Peristyle. His subjects would lie on the
groundinworship,praisinghisnameandkissinghisscarletrobe.Noticethefourbigniches
at floor level, which once held statues of the four tetrarchs who ruled the unwieldy empire
after Diocletian retired. The empty hole in the ceiling was once capped by a dome (long
since collapsed), and the ceiling itself was covered with frescoes and mosaics.
