When workers broke ground on an underground parking lot in the heart of Rome 15n years ago, they had no idea what their backhoes were about to unearth. The site turned out to be what Italian archeologists believe was once "the pleasure gardens" of the Roman emperor Caligula - where some 2,000 years ago all sorts of lavish parties, royal intrigue, and debauched behavior likely took place. Caligula became the third emperor of Rome in A.D. 37, and he reigned for barely four years. He's been portrayed in history as one of the most deranged and despicable Roman emperors ever to rule. But as we first reported last fall, scholars have been re-examining Caligula's story for years to see if history has it right. Could we discover some new fragments of truth in Caligula's Gardens? We were more than happy to go to Rome, to find out.
The temples and palaces of ancient Rome may have crumbled long ago, but the legend of one of its oddest emperors lives on.
What most people know about Caligula comes from this iconic BBC series "I, Claudius," which was based on two historical novels by Robert Graves. In the show, Caligula turns his palace into a brothel, makes his horse a high-ranking senator and declares himself a living god.
