Baths of Caracalla
Introduction
The Baths of Caracalla, or Antonine Baths, were the second largest baths in the city of Rome. The hydraulic complex was built between the years 212 and 217, during the reign of the emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla. They continued in operation until the Gothic War in 537 "Gothic War (535-554)"), when water supplies were cut off and they were abandoned, and the structure was subsequently largely destroyed during the earthquake of 847. Today, the extensive ruins of these baths are a major tourist attraction.[1].
Although they were stripped of their sculptures and other riches from an early date, large fragments of mosaics are still preserved, some of them corresponding to the upper floor of the building, which collapsed. Several of the gigantic marble bathtubs, sculpted from a single block, were moved to the center of Rome to be used as fountains. Its most famous sculpture, the group called Farnese Bull, is preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Naples.[2] Currently, the remains of the complex are located between Viale Aventino (Aventino Avenue), and Viale delle Terme di Caracalla (Avenue of the Baths of Caracalla).
History
Construction (216-235)
The construction of the baths was probably started by the emperor Septimius Severus and they were completed during the reign of his son, Caracalla, and inaugurated in the year 216. They were located in Regio XII, the southern area of the city, where members of the Severus family promoted other works, such as the via nova that led to the baths and the Septizodium on the nearby Palatine Hill. The thermal baths were a huge garden known as horti Asiniani, developed by Gaius Asinius Pollio during the reign of Emperor Augustus. The sculptural group of the Farnese Bull that was transferred to the thermal baths of Caracalla had previously been located in these gardens in the time of Pollio.[4].
These lands owned by Pollio were appropriated by Caracalla with the aim of building his thermal baths. To do this, the old structures were demolished to the foundations, filled with earth and incorporated into the foundations of the new complex. The remains of one of these structures, a domus, were excavated by Francesco Ficoroni in the middle of the century and again between the years 1860-67 by G.B. Guidi.[5].