Probably my favorite virtual reality experience was unearthed around 1863 in the Roman suburb of Prima Porta. Well, it’s not a virtual reality experience as much as it’s an illusionistic fresco on four walls, but bear with me. In the villa of Livia Drusilla (58 BCE-29 CE), the wife of the first emperor of Rome, there is a chilly, underground room designed as a simulatory visual experience. It’s a lush garden. Firs, turkey oaks, palm, myrtles and pomegranate trees, some exotic to Rome, dot the landscape, all in stunning perspective. To the Romans, the painting was reportedly transportative.
Source: Kotaku – VR Has Its Roots In Ancient Rome