When the Nazis Burned Caligula’s Floating Palaces
An act of spite turned two invaluable historical artifacts to ashes
“I guess that anything we manage to save from history is a miracle,” Donna Tartt wrote in her 2014 Pulitzer winning novel The Goldfinch.
I suppose it must be true, considering how many historical and artistic treasures we managed to destroy — out of malice, bad judgment, political or religious zeal, or simply plain, sheer stupidity.
The botched restoration of Martínez’s Ecce Homo and the 17th-century painting of the Virgin Mary irreparably damaged by an incompetent restorer are some examples of this, but at least those were done in good faith.
The Buddhas of Bamyan were instead deliberately destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, but it is far from being the only time priceless artifacts were erased from history in an intentional act of spite: one instance of this is the burning of Emperor Caligula's pleasure ships.
Caligula’s Dream Boat
Caligula was Emperor for only four years — from 37 to 41 CE — but his name has lived on in history due to his alleged inclination for brutality and excess.
