I saw the baths from a distance earlier in the year when I was on the Great Beauty tour in Rome. I went back to investigate when I stopped in Rome on the way back to Australia.
The Baths of Caracalla were the second largest Roman public baths built in the city. ( The Baths of Diocletian were the biggest) They were said to be built during the reign of Emperor Caracalla between AD 212 and 216. Some say it would have taken much longer to build something on this scale.
They could be correct..the site is huge. Amazingly much of it is still standing.
9000 workers were employed daily for approximately 5 years in order to create a huge platform of about 337 x 328 metres.
At the entrance is an impression of what the baths would have looked like.
The bath complex covered approximately 25 hectares. The bath building was 228 metres long, 116metres wide and 38.5 metres high. Thousands could use the baths daily. Those Romans could certainly build things on a grand scale.
The baths were free and open to the public. The Aqua Marcia aqueduct was built to bring water to the baths. The building was heated by a hypocaust, a system of burning coal and wood underneath the ground.
There were baths, swimming pools, dressing rooms, gyms, steam baths, shops and libraries in the complex. From the ancient main entrances, which led into the swimming pool, bathers could go into the dressing rooms and then the gyms.
After exercising, the visitors could have entered one of the laconia, for a steam bath, to prepare the body for the hot baths that were to follow in the caldarium. From there bathers would pass into the tepidarium and then to the largest and coolest indoor area, the frigidarium.
Come for a little walk through the ancient building. You can tell just how huge and impressive they must have been.
It is possible to see some of the mosaic floors and some of the decoration that wasn’t pilfered.
During the middle ages the baths were used as a quarry for precious materials: several figured capitals were reused in the Cathedral of Pisa and in the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Works of art were removed and turned up in collections of wealthy families.
The baths were in use until the 6th century when the Ostrogoths destroyed the hydraulic installations. It must have been a magnificent sight when it was in full swing. The citizens of Rome were very lucky to have such a place.
The grounds around the baths are beautiful.
The Baths of Caracalla are a short walk from the Colusseum. On the day I was there very few people were wandering around the site, while the Colusseum was packed. The skies are very blue in my photos, but by the time I got back to the Colusseum it was raining heavily…hard to believe.
Take the time to walk a bit further and see this amazing place. I know you won’t be disappointed.
PS. I have added a hilarious cartoon to the previous post. Also read in The Australian, in the review section, and article by Deirdre Macken, about the ridiculous recent obsession about food.
The Farnese family ordered much of the spoiling of the Caracalla Baths. Quite a few of its treasures ended up at the Palazzo Farnese. It used to be said that the Farnese caused more destruction than the Barbarians…
Great article and photos, Debra!
By: Mulino Dominillo on November 27, 2014
at 9:31 pm
Those big bathtub fountains in front of the Farnese palace are from Caracalla…not bad if you can get away with it.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2014
at 9:47 pm
Fascinating history and information here, Debra! Loved this post
By: margieinitaly on November 27, 2014
at 10:28 pm
It is a stunning place. You could wander for hours there.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:56 am
Another amazing construction by the Romans. Beautiful mosaics.
By: Jim & Kerry on November 27, 2014
at 11:02 pm
It must have looked magnificent when it was complete.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:56 am
The last time I was in Italy my son and I visited the Caracalla. When I worked there in Rome, at FAO, many years earlier, it was right next door. The only opportunity to ‘go in’ was for a production of Carmen; in the evening. So it was truly awesome to go in decades later, take a lot of time to wander and try to comprehend how it was used. I took a lot of photos, but not the quality of yours, and it was those mosaic tiles that awed me the most…the colour still in them after all those years, all those feet and all the precipitation that pounded down on them. So remarkable, were you not also, gobsmacked?
By: i on November 27, 2014
at 11:44 pm
I was enthralled by the place. To think what was achieved all those years ago is incredible.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:57 am
The bath at Carcalla, both the ruins and the artist’s impression of what they looked like, look impressive.
By: Just Add Attitude on November 28, 2014
at 12:18 am
It is a very impressive sight even now in ruins.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:58 am
Enjoyed the post and pictures–good memories. A couple of years ago I wandered through the baths and found it fascinating. But my best memory of the Baths of Caracalla is from many summers ago–probably in the 80’s of being entranced watching the opera Aida presented there. Wow!
By: Joan Schmelzle on November 28, 2014
at 12:39 am
It is an amazing setting for an opera.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:54 am
Thanks Debra for an excellent set of photos. In 1965 I was an extra in a production of Aida, courtesy of the owner of our pensione who was a regular extra. He told us he would take us to the opera so we were amazed to find ourselves made up and waving a palm frond on the gigantic stage among the horses.
By: Kathy Sanders on November 28, 2014
at 1:32 am
What fun that must have been.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:53 am
I saw Bizet’s Carmen there in 1957, live horses and all.
By: Anonymous on November 28, 2014
at 1:53 am
That must have been stunning.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:52 am
It’s fortunate that even this much remains isn’t it. The engineering and skill involved was mighty. I don’t think I should like an Ostrogoth if I met one.
By: Jan on November 28, 2014
at 3:07 am
Me either, silly sausages ruining the water systems.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:52 am
Stunning place!
http://alonewithacamera.com/
By: Cat Smith on November 28, 2014
at 3:58 am
It is, and I am surprised there were not more people there.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:59 am
We had a quick look at these on our first trip to Rome as they are so close to the Coloseum. So much to see in Rome! 🙂
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on November 28, 2014
at 6:44 am
It is really worth taking some time to walk around the baths.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:50 am
I haven’t heard about this place before… the scale of this structure is quite mind boggling…
And it’s still standing tall after almost 1800 years… just amazing, right?
Thanks a lot for sharing these images and info. 🙂
By: Sreejith Nair on November 28, 2014
at 7:56 am
I think it is incredible that much of it is still standing. Things were built to last.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:47 am
Incredibly beautiful. Thank you.
By: The Daily Cure on November 28, 2014
at 11:06 am
It must have been absolutely stunning to see it when it was new.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:46 am
How amazing! I was just in my local gym earlier this evening… Those Romans knew a thing or two about creating truly amazing, inspiring spaces – and using them everyday of your life. Incredible that the baths weren’t overrun when you were there. I can’t wait to visit!
By: janinevasta on November 28, 2014
at 11:14 am
It is mind boggling that people were able to build things like this without power tools.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:45 am
Thanks for this post and to include my favorite sculptural trees. I think I would rather spend time here than in the Colloseum – but then I am not one for hordes of people.
By: Nicolet on November 28, 2014
at 2:51 pm
The baths are stunning. I am pleased I finally got there.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:44 am
Magnificent. I can imagine myself going for a little rest and relaxation in those baths.
The grounds are equally impressive. Do you know what kind of trees those are? They seem very unique to my eyes.
By: Jackie Cangro on November 28, 2014
at 3:01 pm
The are pine trees. The shape is very common in Italy, particularly Rome. I love them and instantly think of Rome when I see them.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:44 am
I never would have guessed they are pine trees. They don’t look much like the pine trees we have here in the US. I’m glad I asked. Thanks for sharing.
By: Jackie Cangro on November 30, 2014
at 2:10 pm
one of my favorite spots in Rome. Never crowded and so amazing. Loved wandering though with you.
By: laniersmith on November 28, 2014
at 6:55 pm
I think it is an amazing place. I wandered almost alone through the baths.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2014
at 4:43 am
Bummer … we missed them on our trip to Rome … thus seems like a reason to return. 😉
By: aFrankAngle on November 30, 2014
at 1:15 am
It is an excellent reason to return.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 30, 2014
at 2:03 am
It is one of my favourite places in Rome. I went to see Nabucco at the open air opera theater on the Caracalla grounds one summer: a balmy warm evening, Romans were dressed up in their best summer opera outfits and the sounds of divine Verdi music floating over the ruins. Fantastic experience!
By: greenholidayitaly on November 30, 2014
at 11:36 am
It would be a magical place to watch a performance.
By: Debra Kolkka on December 1, 2014
at 10:01 am
Loved your post Debra. Could you tell me what type of trees are in the photos?
By: cosi1956 on December 1, 2014
at 7:48 am
The trees are pine trees, stunning aren’t they?
By: Debra Kolkka on December 1, 2014
at 10:02 am
http://oddpavarottiblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/pavarotti-and-football-5-the-very-first-three-tenors-concert/
By: Odd Pavarotti on December 1, 2014
at 2:34 pm
The first Three Tenors concert was held in Caracalla in 1990!
By: Odd Pavarotti on December 1, 2014
at 2:36 pm
What a great place to hear the 3 Tenors.
By: Debra Kolkka on December 2, 2014
at 7:44 am
What a cool post Debra. Love the history. A friend visited earlier this year, pretty sure my soul city is Rome, cant wait to experience it for myself. 🙂
By: shenANNAgans on December 4, 2014
at 4:52 am
[…] Some of the road still exists and is used by vehicles. It is also possible to follow the Appia on foot for about 16 kilometres from its beginning near the Baths of Caracalla. […]
By: All roads lead to Rome | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on January 12, 2015
at 8:13 am