Things to do in Rome – Visit the Baths of Diocletian

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Rome’s monumental Baths of Diocletian (Terme di Diocleziano) are an interesting site worth visiting. Commissioned by Emperor Maximiam to honor his co-emperor, Diocletian, this 3rd-century-AD imperial facility was in use as the public baths for just over 200 years.  Abandoned and neglected following the 6th-century Gothic War, the remaining buildings were later renovated according to designs by famed Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti  and the facility put to use as a Carthusian monastery.  Subsequent use of various buildings in the complex included a planetarium and warehouses for grain storage. Today, the former Baths of Diocletian are home to the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs and – since the late-19th century – a branch of the National Roman Museum (Museo Nazionale Romano). 

Rome; baths of Diocletian. Coloured engraving, ca. Wellcome L0047695

Inspired by both the Baths of Trajan and of Caracalla, the Baths of Diocletian were reportedly the largest of Ancient Rome, covering an area of just over 32 acres and equipped to accomodate up to 3000 people. The complex consisted of a series of chambers and pools heated or cooled to varying degrees; among these were the calderium (an outdoor bath heated by the sun), the indoor frigidarium and tepidarium (cold and warm water baths now the site of the present-day Basilica), an outdoor natatio (swimming pool), as well as a gymnasium, lecture halls, libraries, theaters, and gardens.  

Entrance Garden Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Entrance to the museum complex is via a lush sculpture garden (behind the basilica) where you’ll walk amidst numerous funerary steles, remnants of stone columns, and several limbless and headless statues. 

Cratere Colossale Fountain Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

At the center of the garden you’ll see the fountain of the giant urn (cratere colossale). 

Exhibition Gallery Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Start your tour of the museum in the recently renovated main building, where the entrance corridor with barrel-vaulted ceiling and spacious and modern ground floor galleries house several busts and statues, such as:

Bust of Brutus Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a post-antique bust inspired by the Capitoline Brutus,

Votive Statue Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a long skinny votive statue, 

Female Statues Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a group of three female statues,

Written Communication Exhibit Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

and an exhibit on Written Communication of the Romans.  Displayed here are fragments of inscribed architraves,  friezes, pedestals, and stone tablets, such as:

Relief Honoring Sol Invictus Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a fragment of a relief honoring Sol Invictus. 

Marble Stairs Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

The elegant marble stairs lead to the upper level of the museum and an exhibit dedicated to the Protohistory of the Latin Peoples.  The collection here presents information on building techniques and burial and cult practices of early Roman settlements.  Items on display include:

Human Skeleton Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a human skeleton, jewelry, tools, weapons, and other votive offerings,

Protohistory Exhibit Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a vast collection of clay pots and jars, as well as burial urns used to store cremated human remains,

Relief of Mithras Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

and a large relief of Mithras.

Courtyard of Michelangelo Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Back outside, make your way into the adjoining Grand Cloister of Michelangelo (Chiostro maggiore di Michelangelo). 

Quatrefoil Fountain Basin Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Framed by rows of monolithic columns (100 in all), this immense courtyard features a manicured mediterranean garden with a stone fountain and quatrefoil basin at its center,

Giant Animal Head Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

and is sprinkled throughout with large blocks of stone and colossal heads of animals.

Arcaded Gallery Courtyard of Michelangelo Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

The colonnaded galleries along the perimeter house additional antiquities, among which are:

an astounding number of busts and statues (many of which are headless and/or limbless images of gods, goddesses, and mythological heros), such as:

Statue of Aphrodite Fortune Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a white marble statue of Aphrodite-Fortune, from the 2nd century AD;

Statue of Penthesilea and Achilles Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a white marble sculpture of Penthesilea and Achilles from the 2nd century AD;

Sarcophagus with Dionysus Relief Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

sarcophagi, such as the impressively carved tomb with reliefs of a drunken Dionysus being supported by Satyr, and an image of the deceased flanked by angels carved onto the lid.

Ludovisi Courtyard Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Adjacent to this courtyard is the much smaller cloister of the monastery (Chiostro piccolo della Certosa) also known as the Ludovisi Courtyard. Built into a portion of the former swimming pool, this stone courtyard, with citrus trees and a 16th-century well at its center, is surrounded by arcaded galleries sheltering yet more statues and stonework.  

Antiquities here include:

Herm of Bearded Divinity Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

herm (or herma) of a bearded divinity, possibly Hermes or Dionysys;

Fountain with Gods Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

remnants of fountains, one of which is decorated with images of Roman gods (Jupiter, Luna, Mars, Sol, Uranus, and Venus);

Bust of Lucius Verus Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Emperor Lucius Verus  (copy of an original in the Musée du Louvre),

Portraits of Children Baths of Diocletian Rome Italyand an interesting collection of portraits of children.

Natatio Facade Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Outside of this courtyard are the remains of the ancient natatio, formerly a swimming pool measuring over 43,000 square feet and now partially incorporated into the apse of the basilica and home to the above mentioned small cloister. 

Grill Covered Windows Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

Where once the facade was decorated with colorful marble and mosaic tilework, its niches, shrines and grill-covered windows are set into the rectangular and curved recesses of exposed red brick.

On exhibit in the various sections of the natatio and the rooms adjacent, you’ll see:

Model of Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

a model of the existing structures of the Baths;

Stone Corbels Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

pieces of architectural elements like plinths and other segments of columns, decorated corbels, and gateways, such as:

Gateway of Villa Panzoni Natatio Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

the Gateway of Villa Panzoni;

Reclining Child Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

stone sarcophagi and other funerary objects, such as a 1st-century-AD relief of four figures, and a sculpture of a reclining child;

Sarcophagus with Four Figures Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

and other funerary objects, such as a 1st-century-AD relief of four figures; 

Tomb of the Platorini Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

the reconstructed cubical Tomb of the Platorini family;

Floor Mosaic Hercules and Echelous Baths of Diocletian Rome Italy

and a 3rd-century-AD mosaic floor from the Villa of Anzio with images depicting Hercules and Echelous.

Keep in mind that sections of the Baths may be undergoing excavation or restoration during your visit.

Getting there:

The Baths of Diocletian are located at Viale Enrico de Nicola, just behind the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. 

Ticket info: 

Adult Admission = 10.00€; additional fee may apply for special exhibitions

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