Baths of Caracalla
Baths of Caracalla
Baths of Caracalla
AN OPEN-AIR MUSEUM IN ROME
Water has always been important to the Romans. The Romans under Emperor Septimius Severus began building the Baths of Caracalla in 206, and they opened 10 years later.
My Rating:
The positives:
A hidden highlight without the crowds! The high walls and the many open spaces make it possible to recognize the size and complexity of the ancient thermal baths at first glance. Traveling back in time is even better with VR glasses.
The negatives:
I didn't notice anything negative.
Tip:
Visit the Baths of Diocletian afterwards. This completes the overall picture and transforms the idea into a real image.
Last Modified: 11.09.2023 | Céline & Susi
Baths of Caracalla
Tickets
The details
at a glance
Roma Pass
The Baths of Caracalla are on the list of museums and sights you can visit with the Roma Pass.
The Roma Pass is valid for 48 or 72 hours.
-> Find out more about the Roma Pass
The Roma Pass is also included with the 72-hour Omnia Card.
-> Find out more about the Omnia Card
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Baths of Caracalla
Photo Gallery
What is there
to see?
Today, we associate the terms “thermal baths and spas” with taking a deep breath and relaxing. We visit health and wellness facilities after exhausting days to switch off and/or to find a balance to life in the big city. After an exciting sightseeing tour through Rome, a visit to a thermal spa would therefore be more than appropriate.
In the Baths of Caracalla (Latin: Thermae Antoninianae) you can get away from the hustle and bustle and mass tourism. But beware: you can take a deep breath there, but not relax in warm pools or saunas. 😉
What awaits you there is more of an amazement at the sophisticated architecture, the complex knowledge and the healthy lifestyle of the Romans in antiquity. You will be thrilled when you realise what the Roman in the 3rd century understood by a “SPA day” thanks to the still preserved swimming, warm and cold water pools, the high walls and colourful mosaic floors. And actually nothing different from what we have today. Only that everything was much more splendid, bigger and more elaborate.
With the help of the virtual reality glasses, all this becomes even clearer: the pools, which are empty today, are filled with water, the brick walls are decorated with colourful marble and the cavities are filled with statues.
CARACALLA Baths
A bit of History
Sanus per Aquam, or SPA for short, healthy through water.
Water has always been important to the Romans. So the Romans built huge aqueducts—kilometre-long, above-ground water pipes—to supply the Roman people with sufficient water. They also built public, admission-free bathing facilities, which, in addition to the possibility of bathing and relaxing, were usually equipped with a sports field, barber shops or libraries.
The Romans began building the Baths of Caracalla under Emperor Septimius Severus in 206. 10 years later, the bath complex was opened under his son, Emperor Caracalla. Incidentally, a triumphal arch from 203 in the Roman Forum commemorates the Emperor Septimius Severus.
The entire site had an area of about 340 by 330 metres (that’s about the size of 16 football fields). It is estimated that up to 9,000 people (most of them slaves) worked daily on the construction of the Baths of Caracalla, which today is the best-preserved thermal complex in Rome.
A separate aqueduct was built to supply the baths with water. The water was later drained off via a canal system located ten metres below the complex. The hypocaustum, or heating system, was also perfectly thought out. Hot air was blown through clay pipes in the walls to heat rooms, floors or pools. For this to work, hundreds of slaves had to burn tons of wood in around 50 ovens in the basement of the thermal complex.
Every day, up to 2,000 people could enjoy themselves in the thermal baths. Women were also allowed to enter, although they usually had to bathe at different times or in separate rooms. They also wore bikinis and enjoyed massages—just like we do today.
In the 6th century (in 537 to be precise), the water pipes were destroyed by the Ostrogoths, which resulted in the cessation of bathing. 300 years later, there was a severe earthquake in Rome, which additionally destroyed the thermal baths badly. Rain, heat or frost also contributed to further natural decay of the baths.
Like the Colosseum, the Caracalla Baths also served as a quarry. Marble slabs, sculptures and statues were removed and reused for buildings such as St. Peter’s Basilica or the Palazzo Farnese.
A BATHING DAY
IN THE THERMAS
A classic bathing session at the Caracalla Baths was like any other in the great imperial baths. If you entered the baths, you found the Natatio, the cold-water swimming pool, in a large anteroom. From there you could go to the sports ground to work up a sweat. The rooms adjacent to it were saunas (lat. laconium, dry sweat rooms).
After all, before the Romans started bathing, they wanted to sweat. Then they went into the tepidarium, a bath with lukewarm water and dry air.
Then we visited the caldarium, the warm water pool. This can be compared to a steam chamber today. It had very high humidity, with room and water temperatures of 35 to 50 degrees Celsius.
The bathing process was completed in the frigidarium, a cooled room with a cold-water pool. However, those who preferred to visit the swimming pool (natatio) instead of venturing into the cold water could, of course, do so. This cycle was interrupted with a rest period and could be repeated as often as one wished.
For the Roman, bathing was a more social event than a health-conscious one. People played sports there, studied, exchanged ideas about the economy and politics, and also played banal games at the poolside. A spa was a place full of life.
Official website of Terme Caracalla (IT): www.beniculturali.it
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2020 – 2023
With the support of Susanne Vukan
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