Historic Bath Architecture
Introduction
The Roman baths (from the Greek θερμός thermos, "hot") are bathhouses of the ancient Roman civilization of considerable dimensions. If they were smaller baths, public or private in Roman villas, they were called balneae.[1].
Most of the cities of Ancient Rome housed one or several public baths, whose use was not only hygienic, but were also considered meeting places and places for gymnastic and recreational activities. The water was supplied from a nearby river or stream and with aqueducts in large cities (such as the 14-kilometer Segovia one),[2] it was subsequently heated in a bonfire and transferred to the caldarium, where the water temperature was high.[1] The design of these spaces was argued by Vitruvius in his work De architectura (V.10).[3].
Terminology
The terms thermae, balneae, balineae, balneum and balineum can be translated as "bath" or "baths", although in Latin sources there are some differences between them.
Balneum or balineum, coming from the Greek βαλανεῖον, was the bathroom or bathtub that was found in the homes of the Roman citizens themselves.[4] The diminutive balneolum was used by Seneca to designate Scipio's bathroom in his villa of Liternum, and attempts to emphasize its modest characteristics, typical of the Roman Republic, compared to the luxury of the Empire that had just emerged. begin.[5] Thus, when the individual baths acquired more sumptuousness and housed several rooms, the plural balnea or balinea was adopted, just as Cicero describes the baths in the villa of his brother Quintus.[6].
Balneae and balineae, according to Varro without a specific number of rooms,[7] were the public baths; although there are some contradictions in later authors, such as Pliny, who use the term balnea to also refer to public baths and balneum for private ones. Finally, thermae literally means "thermal waters" or "thermal water baths",[8] although it began to be used to designate the magnificent buildings that were built during the Empire, instead of the simple balneae of the Republic.[9].