He was the focal figure in the Pisonian conspiracy of AD 65, the most famous and wide-ranging plot against the throne of Emperor Nero.
Piso came from the ancient and noble house of the Calpurnii[1] and he distributed his great wealth among many beneficiaries of all Roman social classes.
Among a wide range of interests, Piso sang on the tragic stage, wrote poetry, played an expert game of Latrunculi, and owned the villa Pisoni at Baiae.
According to Tacitus, Piso used his eloquence to defend his fellow citizens and was generous and gracious in speech, but lacked earnestness and was overly ostentatious, while craving the sensual.
[5] By AD 65, the city had endured the Great Fire of Rome, spurring groups of conspirators to come together under the leadership of Piso with the goal of killing Nero.