06 - The Great Fire of Rome - Disasters, True Stories

In 64 AD, Rome was suffocating under the heat of a scorching summer, formerly known as "the period of the boilers", in front of which the citizens were not all equal. The aristocracy took refuge in the countryside, looking for coolness in the gardens of their homes and the plebs, trapped in their dilapidated apartments in the city center, had no choice but to suffer the heavy temperatures. The poorest contracted fevers, went mad or perished in the overcrowded metropolis, with a million people crammed into 1800 hectares. The situation degenerated during the night of July 18, when a fire broke out and threatened to reduce the entire city to rubble... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices