But even if Nero did play music while Rome was burning, he would not have used a fiddle, as bowed instruments would not become popular for another 1,000 years, Drake said.

The Great Fire of Rome, a week-long July blaze that devastated the city in 64 A.D., is inexorably linked to the tale of one man: the infamous Emperor Nero.

The ruins of Emperor Nero’s theater have been uncovered in Rome, Italian officials said. Photo from Soprintendenza Speciale Roma Contrary to legend, Nero probably did not play the fiddle during ...

The ruins of Emperor Nero’s theater have been uncovered in Rome, Italian officials said. Photo from Soprintendenza Speciale Roma Contrary to legend, Nero probably did not play the fiddle during ...

The ruins of Emperor Nero’s theater have been uncovered in Rome, Italian officials said. Photo from Soprintendenza Speciale Roma Contrary to legend, Nero probably did not play the fiddle during ...

The ruins of Emperor Nero’s theater have been uncovered in Rome, Italian officials said. Photo from Soprintendenza Speciale Roma Contrary to legend, Nero probably did not play the fiddle during ...

The Roman elite despised Emperor Nero’s “artistic endeavors,” a historian said. Nero’s theater — where audience may have sat on ‘pain of death’ — discovered in Rome Skip to main ...

Rome burned for six days in 64AD, stopped and then burned another three days, leaving 71% of the city destroyed. History tells many tales, some suggesting Nero may have started ...

Rome (and higher ed) is burning in Connecticut Under Gov. Lamont’s budget, the CSCU system may have to lay off 600-800 faculty and staff, close programs, cut courses, and increase class sizes.

Contrary to legend, Nero probably did not play the fiddle during the Great Fire of Rome. But his passion for music — among other performing arts — appears to have been real, as supported by ...