Caligula
Construction

Caligula had a fondness for grandiose, costly building projects, many of which were intended to benefit or entertain the general population but are described in Roman sources as wasteful. In the city of Rome, he completed the temple of Augustus and the theatre of Pompey. He is said to have built a bridge between the temple of Castor and Pollux and the Capitol. Barrett (2015) believes that this bridge existed only in Suetonius' account, and should perhaps be dismissed as a fantasy, with possible origins in some jocular remark by Caligula.

Caligula began an amphitheatre beside the Saepta Julia; he cleared the latter space for use as an arena, and filled it with water for a single naumachia (a sham naval battle fought as entertainment). He supervised the extension and rebuilding of the imperial palace to include a gallery for his art collection. Philo and his party were given a tour of the gallery during their diplomatic visit. Barrett (2015) considers Philo's description of Caligula as a "would-be connoisseur and aesthete" as "probably not very wide of the mark." To help meet Rome' burgeoning demand for fresh water, he began the construction of aqueducts Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus, which Pliny the Elder considered to be engineering marvels. He built a large racetrack, now known as the Circus of Gaius and Nero. In its central spine he incorporated an Egyptian obelisk, now known as the Vatican obelisk, which he had brought by sea on a gigantic, purpose-built ship, which used 120,000 modi of lentils as ballast.

At Syracuse, he repaired the city walls and temples. He pushed to keep roads in good condition throughout the empire, and extended the existing network: to this end, Caligula investigated the financial affairs of current and past highway commissioners. Those guilty of negligence, embezzlement or misuse of funds were forced to repay what they had dishonestly used for other purposes, or fulfil their commissions at their own expense. Caligula planned to rebuild the palace of Polycrates at Samos, to finish the temple of Didymaean Apollo at Ephesus, and house his own cult and image there: and to found a city high up in the Alps. He intended to dig a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece and sent a chief centurion to survey the site. None of these plans came to fruition.
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