Golden House: Palace of the Emperor Nero in ancient Rome, which occupied the valley between the Palatine and the Esquiline, and connected the palaces of the Caesars with the gardens of Maecenas. It was built after the great fire of 64 A.D., and was so large that it contained porticos 2,800 feet long and inclosed a lake where the Colosseum now stands. The forecourt contained a colossus of Nero 120 feet high.