Nero's Rome - A fabulous city glamorized by later Roman generations
If I had to pick an imperial period in which the city was glamorized more than others by the Romans themselves, I would not doubt say it was the age of Nero. 54-68 AD (14 years)
This period was not particularly long, another period that's romanticized, of course, is the age of Augustus. But with Nero's Rome, you have such an ensemble of characters that really show how vibrant the city was in the twilight of the Julio-Claudians
Some prominent residents of the city in the 50s and 60s
Moreover, the city began experiencing a building boom that would become icons of its culture, the Baths of Nero, Domus Aurea, Colossus, we also have a new aqueduct in the city as well.
But its really the people of these 14 years that marveled later Romans and would play a role in shaping the city's culture.
All the people I listed above died in Nero's reign or shortly after.
Whether it's Peter and Paul who laid the foundations for Rome to be the bishopric it will eventually become, or the famous Roman Stoics like Seneca, Thrasea, and a young Musonius, who influenced much later generations and were the pioneers of establishing the Stoic tradition in Roman culture.
Lucan and Petronius likewise being influential as celebrated icons of this age. Sporus and Agrippina, famed for their tragic ends, adds color to how chaotic, almost operatic, the city was in its ambiance.
Later writers like Juvenal, Tacitus, Julian, Gellius, Statius, Pliny the Younger, Plutarch, Statius, etc... just all view this period with amazement, its energy, its rapid Hellenization, its iconic figures and celebrities.
During the late empire, residents like Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, etc... would marvel at this older version of the city and the early church. The struggle of the Christians that brought the faith into prominence.
So while we in the modern age oftentimes look at Nero's reign as just some wacky decade and a half of Roman rambunctiousness, for the later Romans themselves, this period is very much viewed as immensely iconic.
"Who was ever worse than Nero? Yet what can be better than Nero's warm baths?"
- Martial, Epigram 7.34