Panorama taken outside the front of the Opera Theatre in Rome.

Terme di Caracalla - Rome visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Terme di Caracalla' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Roma.

The Terme di Caracalla (Baths of Caracalla) lie just south of the Circus Maximus in Rome. These ancient ruins are used by the Teatro dell'Opera (Rome Opera) for some of its performances.

The construction of the Terme di Caracalla started in 206 AD by Emperor Septimius Severus and completed by his son Caracalla, after whom they are named. The baths were among the most opulent in Rome with space for 1,600 bathers at a time. Bathers would start in small sudatoria, similar to modern saunas where the occupant sweated. Thereafter they would enter a calidarium, a large, circular and humid room. Here a 'strigil' or scraper would be used to scrape off the dead skin and dirt. The bather then moved to the tepidarium to begin to cool down and end up in the frigidarium which contained the only actual baths in the complex.

For the Romans, bathing was just one of the things that happened at any baths. They were also places for socializing and building contacts. Large baths like the Terme di Caracalla would also contain massage halls and gymnasiums and exercise rooms for physical health. In addition they would have recital halls, art galleries and libraries.

Terme di Caracalla
Via delle Terme di Caracalla 52,
Aventino,
Rome

Metro: Circo Massimo (B)