Tiberio - Grandi Delitti nella Storia


Author: Luigino Pincini
Rating: 3/5

Yet another book from the series of famous murders.
This time I read about the death of the second Emperor of the Romans: Tiberius Caesar Augustus.

This murder wasn’t actually an orchestrated political elimination but rather an unexpected necessity.

The story goes that at a rest in Misenum, from a trip from the island of Capri (where the Emperor had his palace) to Rome, Tiberius fell ill and apparently died.
At the time the two candidates for the imperial succession were two teen boys:

After learning of the demise of their sovereign, the attending court in the villa immediately proclaimed Caligula, who was there, Emperor. They were just congratulating him for his succession that news broke out that Tiberius had revived and was in fact alive.
With terrific quick thinking Caligula had the old Emperor smothered (or himself did it); Tiberius Gemellus would join him in the Underworld after a few months.

The Emperor is dead, long live the Emperor.

Incidentally, quite recently I visited Tiberius’ Imperial Palace in Capri! Now is actually called “Villa Jovis” and was rediscovered only in recent times (the 1700s).

Here below there are some pictures of the palace where the Emperor lived, far away from Rome’s politics, for 11 years.
I hope that this visual medium can help your feel submerged by the tides of History:

jump
The place where the Emperor would "allegedly" throw off undesidered guests

view
From this vantage point it was possible to monitor the island and the Gulf of Naples

palace
The palace at his peak would have been majestic and opulent

ruins
Another postcard of the ruins

panorama
A view fitting of an Emperor

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