South and inland of Palermo, in the interior of the island near Enna, can be found a fairly intact Roman Villa from the 4th century BC, with room after room of incredible mosaic floors:
Furnaces were placed outside of the baths to heat the water for the hot baths. The small columns of stacked bricks supported the floor, creating a closed space through which heat produced by the furnaces was collected and moved through the bath complex.
Three rooms are part of the hot bath system. The 2 external environments are the caldaria, each provided with a small pool for immersion into the hot water. The center of the Laconicum has no pool, it was heated with dry air of about 60 degrees for brief sweats. The Tepidarium (as in tepid) is an elongated structure, heated at a moderate temperature to avoid excessive change in temperature between the hot and cold baths.
The cold bath system (frigidarium) had a central octagonal structure with six niches, used as a dressing room.
From here one could go to the large pool for lap swims or the small soaking pool. The collonade supported a central dome from which light entered. Opague glass tiles lined the vault and the walls reflecting light from the dome.
The massage room seems to have been completely lined with marble in the late antique period. Titus and Cassius are depicted with servants holding items for massage like a bucket and brush. The little well, or hole in the top of the photo designed to suggest a four-petal flower, is the only original drain cover remaining in the villa.
Oh for a Terme!
No comments:
Post a Comment