Most historians agree that Nero did not burn down Rome. There were many oher rumors about Nero which were, however, based in fact. His psychotic personality was displayed in a myriad of incidents including the murder of his mother Agrippina in a plot parallel to the film Rebecca, Nero had holes drilled in his mother's ship on the night of her trip back from Antium but being a powerful swimmer, she was able to reach shore. Unaware that the attempted assassination was an attempted matricide, she sent a message to her son reporting the incident. Nero then dispatched an assassin who completed the crime.

Nero's megalomania led to his belief that he was the human incarnation of Jupiter, Apollo, and the sun. Convinced of his divinity, Nero renamed Rome Neropolis and the month of April Neroneus. He eventually beat his wife Poppaea to death while she was several months pregnant because she cursed him for returning too late one night after the chariot races.

The legend of Nero' playing the lute and sang while Rome burned  was a rumor reported by the first century Roman historian and biographer, Suetonius, but which has been disregarded by most historians. But Nero did use the opportunity of the fire's devastation to rebuild a major part of Rome, including the excessive extravagances of his private residence. However, because of the widespread that Nero had set the fire that destroyed two thirds of the city, Nero used the Christians as the scapegoat. His resultant persecutions resulted in the martyrdoms of both St. Peter and St. Paul and nearly the genocide of the entire Roman Christian population.

Nero' s megalomania was also evidenced in his belief that he was the world's greatest musician and singer. He staged contest which he would enter, paid hundreds as his cliques to guarantee that he was always awarded first prize. Nero's nickname, Porrophagus, which means "leek eater" was due to his passion for leek soup which he consumed daily in large quantities because he was convinced that leeks had a divine ingredient that was responsible for his glorious voice (Aristotle was also convinced that leeks had a special property that affected the voice, and wrote that the piercings sound of the partridge's cry was due to their for fondness for leeks).

Nero's memory is commemorated in a wide variety of Italian specialties including Zuppa alla Nerone. An updated of his famous leek soup is included here which we suggest pairing with Quo Vadis (1951) to also enjoy Peter Ustinov's tasty portrayal of Nero. In his autobiography, Dear Me, Peter recalled that director Mervyn LeRoy summarized the manner in which he envisioned Peter should play the Emperor  as "Nero...He plays with himself, nights."
 

Zuppa  alla Nerone
(Nero's Leek and Watercress Soup)

1/2 TB butter
2 cups watercress, washed and chopped
3 leeks, whites only, washed and chopped
3 TB flour
2 cups veal stock*
1/2 cup dry white wine

*See Appendix A
 

2 8o z packages cream cheese, cubed, at room temperature
2 egg yolks
1 cup veal glace de viande *
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
salt & freshly ground white pepper to taste
1/2 cup cooked bacon bits