Nero could not have fiddled while Rome burned: the violin was invented in the 16th century.

64

According to Tacitus he was at Antium when the fire broke out, and on returning opened his gardens to the homeless.

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The event

• Great Fire of Rome64 · Rome. In July 64 a fire raged through Rome for six days and destroyed much of the city. According to Tacitus, Nero was away at Antium; on his return he opened the Campus Martius and his own gardens to the homeless.

1st century

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