The Baths of Caracalla are one of the greatest examples of Imperial thermal complexes in Rome and today conserve a large part of the original structure, free of modern buildings. Built by the Emperor Caracalla on the Small Aventine between 212 and 216 C.E. near the beginning of the via Appia, about 400m from ancient Porta Capena, the complex could accommodate over 1,550 people.
It housed various baths with hot and cold water, an open-air pool, porticoes, green areas, palestre (gyms) and two large libraries. The calidarium, tepidarium, frigidarium and natatio can all be seen on the central axis: other rooms were arranged symmetrically to the sides, near the two palestre. The services on offer were managed by a complex network of underground connections and cisterns. One of the underground rooms contained a Mithraeum. he water was provided by a special arm of the Acqua Marcia aqueduct.
The complex was decorated with enormous marble columns and colourful Eastern marble flooring, with glass mosaics and marble on the walls, painted stuccowork and hundreds of statues and colossal groupings in wall niches and in the most important reception areas and gardens.
The Baths stopped working in the 6th century when the Goths invaded the city and cut off the water supply. Today, during the summer season, the complex becomes the setting for numerous musical and theatrical events.
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