The Domus Augustana is the modern name given to the central residential part of the vast Roman Palace of Domitian (92 AD) on the Palatine Hill.

The 3rd Peristyle was filled almost completely with a huge pool as wide as that of the Domus Flavia and included a seascape perhaps of Greek mythology on an island connected to the side via a bridge with several arches, and with sculptures in the water.

[6] The elaborate rooms surrounding the peristyle alternated between open and closed spaces, suited to public use and perhaps several social groups.

The courtyard complex was reserved for the private quarters of the emperor and was built around another peristyle garden surrounded by a colonnade on two levels, the upper containing complex sets of rooms and the lower, 10 m below ground level, consisting of a pool with an unusual design of islands consisting of four peltas, typical moon-shaped shields of the Amazons, all surfaces being originally faced with marble.

From this curved terrace a large arched opening, visible in drawings of the sixteenth century (Heemskerck II; Wyngaerde) led into the courtyard complex.