Terme del Faro
The Terme del Faro (Thermal Baths of the Lighthouse) are located in the ancient city of Ostia (IV, II, 1). They were built at the beginning of the second century AD and renovated several times until the end of the fourth century. They get their modern name from a large black and white mosaic with sea scenes and a lighthouse in the middle.
A plan from 1805 shows that parts of the thermal baths had already been exposed at that time. They were only fully excavated by G. Calza in July 1940. However, a final excavation report never appeared. In the following years there were several further investigations, the main aim of which was to clarify the building history of the bathroom. There was also restoration work.
The thermal baths are located on the Cardo Maximus in the southern part of the city. Next to the entrance there is a bar on one side and a shop on the other. Behind the entrance is the vestibule . To the left and right of it are the changing rooms. In one of them, holes can still be seen in the wall, which should obviously hold cupboards or shelves for the bathers' clothes. The mosaic with the lighthouse that gave the thermal baths its name is in the left changing room. From the vestibule you get into the cold bath ( frigidarium ) with a large basin on the south side. The walls here were partly decorated with stucco , which are only preserved in a few places. There is a marble basin on the opposite side. The walls above have figural murals, including Europe and the bull. To the west are three heated rooms, some of which were also decorated with mosaics. These were found to be damaged.
literature
- Hans Schaal : Ostia - the world port of Rome . Bremen 1957, p. 106.
- Hanna Stöger: Rethinking Ostia: A Spatial Inquiry into the Urban Society of Rome's Imperial Port-Town. (= Archaeological Studies Leiden University. 24). Leiden 2011, ISBN 978-90-8728-150-2 , pp. 69-92.
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 45 ′ 10.1 ″ N , 12 ° 17 ′ 25.4 ″ E