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The Baths of Caracalla, that are located to the south of Rome, can be
reached on Line B on the metro system, from both Circo Massimo and
Piramide stations.
These are the ruins of what was once one of the grandest and most
elaborate bath complexes in the whole of Italy. Construction of the baths
was started in 206 by Septimus Severus, and completed by his son
Caracalla, in 217. |
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Water
was fed to the baths from a branch of the
Aqua Marcia aqueduct that brought water from the
hills close to Subiaco. It has been estimated that 15.000 - 20,000 cubic
meters of water per day were required to supply the needs of up to 1,500
bathers at any one time. |
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Still visible today
are the remains of
many of the original rooms, including the changing room
or apodyteria, the the cold room
or frigidarium, the warm room
or tepidarium, and
the caldarium,
which was the steam room. There was also an open air pool for
swimming. The building had an under floor heating system called a
hypocaust, which
was heated using over fifty furnaces. |
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The Baths of Caracalla remained in use until the
invading Goths cut off the supply of water in 537 A.D. In later years, the
grounds were used to house pilgrims who became ill during their journey.
Since the 1930s, the site has been used for outdoor operatic recitals, the
most famous of which being the concert of the Three Tenors in 1990. The
number of such events have been reduced over the past number of years, in
an effort to help preserve the buildings remains. |
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Major excavations on the site began in 1824, which unearthed, amongst
other things, the famous mosaics which are now conserved in the Vatican
museum, although some
indication of the magnificence of the the original building can be gained
through the remains of what mosaic fragments and pieces of ancient statues
still remain scattered around the grounds. |
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