Baths of Agrippa

Welcome to the site of the Thermae Agrippae, the very first public bathing complex ever built in Rome. To understand this site, we must look back to the late 1st century BC, a time of radical transformation for the city under its…

As we stroll down the Via dei Cestari, leading away from the rear of the Pantheon, we are walking through the heart of the historic center. This street is famous today for its shops selling ecclesiastical items—priestly robes,…

We have now reached the Via dell'Arco della Ciambella, and here, rising amidst the modern apartments, is the most significant standing remain of the Baths of Agrippa. This curved wall, reaching high above the current street…

The term 'Laconicum' is frequently associated with the Baths of Agrippa. In the early years of the complex, this was its colloquial name. …

One cannot discuss the Baths of Agrippa without mentioning the Aqua Virgo. To make these baths functional, Agrippa had to bring a massive amount of water into the city. …

If you look closely at the walls near the ruins of the baths, you will often find a 'Madonella'—a 'little Madonna.' These are small portraits or shrines of the Virgin Mary, often surrounded by elaborate frames, sometimes with a…

In antiquity, the area around the Baths of Agrippa and the Pantheon was not the dense urban thicket we see today. Instead, it was a region of 'Horti'—sprawling, semi-public leisure gardens. …

As we conclude our exploration of the Baths of Agrippa, we are left with a profound sense of the 'living' nature of Roman history. Unlike the Colosseum or the Forum, which stand as isolated archaeological parks, the remains of…