Terme di Caracalla (Baths of Caracalla)

Terme di Caracalla (Baths of Caracalla) Review

Although not the largest in ancient Rome, these public baths seem to have been by far the most opulent. Begun in AD 206 by the emperor Septimius Severus and completed by his son, Caracalla, they could accommodate 1,600 bathers at a time.

For the Romans, the baths were much more than places to wash. Although providing bathing facilities was their main purpose, there were also recital halls, art galleries, and libraries to improve the mind, and massage and exercise rooms as well as sports grounds to improve the body, in addition to halls and gardens just for talking and strolling. Even the smallest public baths had at least some of these amenities, and in the capital of the Roman Empire, they were provided on a lavish scale. Their functioning depended on the slaves who cared for the clients, checking their robes, rubbing them down, and seeing to their needs. Under the magnificent marble pavement of the stately halls, other slaves toiled in a warren of tiny rooms and passages, stoking the fires that heated the water.

Taking a bath was a long and complex process, which is eminently understandable if you see it as a social activity first and foremost. Remember, too, that for all their sophistication, the Romans didn't have soap. You began in the sudatoria, a series of small rooms resembling saunas. Here you sat and sweated. From these you moved to the calidarium, a large circular room that was humid rather than simply hot. This was where the actual business of washing went on. You used a strigil, or scraper, to get the dirt off; if you were rich, your slave did this for you. Next you moved to the tepidarium, a warmish room, the purpose of which was to allow you to begin gradually to cool down. Finally, you splashed around in the frigidarium, the only actual "bath" in the place, in essence a shallow swimming pool filled with cold water. The rich might like to complete the process with a brisk rubdown with a scented towel. It was not unusual for a member of the opposite sex to perform this favor for you (the baths were open to men and women, though the times when they could use them were different). There was a nominal admission fee, often waived by officials and emperors wishing to curry favor with the plebeians. In summer, the Baths are a stunning open-air venue for operas and ballet performances of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (prices from €25 to €110; reserve through 0039/0648078400).