Under Constantine the Great the caldarium was modified. Later renovations were conducted under Aurelian (after a fire) and by Diocletian. The baths were likely mostly finished by 235. Work on additional decorations continued under Caracalla's successors Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. įor work to have been mostly completed in the time of Caracalla, workers would have to have installed over 2,000 tonnes (2,200 short tons) of material every day for six years. Recently this two-storey domus deep below the baths, built in 134-138 during the reign of Hadrian, and partially demolished in 206 has been opened to the public revealing lavishly decorated frescoed ceilings and a lararium, a room dedicated to Roman and Egyptian gods. The remains of one of these structures, a noble domus (house), were excavated initially by Francesco Ficoroni in the mid-18th century and again in 1860–67 by G.B. The estate of Pollio was appropriated by Caracalla to build his baths the existing structures were demolished in some cases to their ground floors, filled in with earth and incorporated into the foundations of the new complex. The Farnese Bull sculptural group that was later moved into the Baths of Caracalla was already present at the site in the time of Pollio, who had imported it to display in his gardens. : 7 The site chosen for the baths formerly belonged to a vast garden estate known as the horti Asiniani, developed by Gaius Asinius Pollio during the reign of Augustus. The baths were located in the southern area of the city, Regio XII Piscina Publica, where members of the Severan family commissioned other construction works: the Via Nova leading to the baths and the Septizodium on nearby Palatine Hill. Today the Baths of Caracalla are a tourist attraction.Ĭonstruction of the baths was probably initiated by emperor Septimius Severus and completed during the reign of his son, Caracalla. Artworks recovered from the ruins include famous sculptures such as the Farnese Bull and the Farnese Hercules. They were in operation until the 530s and then fell into disuse and ruin.īoth during and since their operation as baths, they served as inspiration for many other notable buildings, ancient and modern, such as the Baths of Diocletian, the Basilica of Maxentius, the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City, Chicago Union Station and the Senate of Canada Building. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla. The Baths of Caracalla ( Italian: Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Roman public baths, or thermae, after the Baths of Diocletian. Cultural, artistic, historical, architectural, religious
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