THE ROMANS BATHS
The history of Roman baths
By Chiara Nervo and Francesca Guidi
The first baths were born in the third century b.C., in places
where it was possible to take advantage of natural springs of
warm water or with special curative powers. Over time,
especially in the imperial age, this habit spread also into the
cities, because new techniques for heating the water had
been developed and baths became complicated structures
CALIDARIUM : This was a very hot and steamy room, heated by a hypocaust , an
underfloor heating system. This was the hottest room in the regular sequence of
bathing rooms.
TEPIDARIUM : The tepidarium was the warm (tepidus) bathroom of the Roman
baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system.The specialty of a
tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which surrounds the
human body from the walls and floor.
FRIGIDARIUM : it is a large cold pool of the Roman baths. It was usually entered
after the Caldarium and the Tepidarium, which were used to open the pores of the
skin. The cold water would close the pores.
GYM : the gym was the place where the ancient Romans trained, because it was
their tradition thinking that in correspondence to a healthy body there was a
healthy mind, hence the proverb “ mens sana, in corpore sano”.
DRESSING ROOM : It was the room where the Romans used to change their
clothes before and after the hours spent relaxing at the baths.
LIBRARY : Sometimes at the baths there was also the library. In this way the
Romans could relax themselves, reading books.
Water provision of the great imperial baths were insured by
acqueducts. The water didn’t arrive directly to the building but it
was collected in special tanks, built near the bath plant. From the
tanks a complex distribution sistem, brought water along the
tubes into the baths.
CARACALLA’S BATHS
Among the Roman baths, the most famous and
best preserved are the wonderful Caracalla’s
baths, built in Rome between AD 212 and 216.
BATH: Roman thermae in England
BADEN BADEN: an example of Roman
baths in Germany