 Two columns from the baths near the church ofSant' Eustachio on Via di Sant'Eustachio; three other columns from the baths also survive, supporting the portico of thePantheon | |
  Baths of Nero Shown within Augustan Rome | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°53′55″N12°28′33″E / 41.8987°N 12.4758°E /41.8987; 12.4758 |
TheBaths of Nero (Thermae Neronis) orBaths of Alexander (Thermae Alexandrinae) were a complex ofancient Roman baths on theCampus Martius in Rome, built byNero in either 62 or 64[1] and rebuilt byAlexander Severus in 227 or 229.[2] It stood between thePantheon and theStadium of Domitian and were listed among the most notable buildings in the city by Roman authors[3] and became a much-frequented venue.[4] Thesethermae were the second large public baths built in Rome, after theBaths of Agrippa, and it was probably the first "imperial-type" complex of baths, with a monumental scale and symmetrical, axially-planned design. While in the sixteenth century the foundations of thecaldarium were still visible, nothing else of the structure remains above ground except some fragments of walls incorporated into the structure ofPalazzo Madama.
Thethermae covered an area of about 190 by 120 metres. Their extent is shown by the modern-dayPiazza della Rotonda, Via del Pozzo delle Cornacchie and Via della Dogana Vecchia, which now cover the site. The complex's water was initially supplied by theAqua Virgo – already supplying the neighbouringBaths of Agrippa – then by the newly builtAqua Alexandrina after its restoration in the reign of the early third century emperor Alexander Severus, after whom it was subsequently renamed, though some continued to give it Nero's name.[5]
The restoration was part of the extensive building program that Severus undertook during his reign, which also included the restoration of theBaths of Caracalla, theColosseum, theTemple of Serapis,Circus Maximus, and the Alexandriannymphaeum, among others.[6]
There is some contradiction among ancient sources with regards to whether the Baths of Nero and the Baths of Alexander are the same. Some affirmed that they are identical, while some claim that the two structures were merely close to each other.[7] It is also suggested that the Severus added his baths to the existing facility built by Nero.[7]
Its construction was celebrated by a probable depiction of the baths on a coin of Alexander Severus.[8] According toSidonius Apollinaris, it was still in use in the fifth century.[9] Its appearance is known from Renaissance drawings made byPalladio andAntonio da Sangallo the Younger and may substantially represent the design as it was the time of Nero. The overall layout of the baths has been confirmed by archaeological findings.[10] It fronted north, and was aligned with its walls facing the points of the compass. In the centre of the colder northern side was thenatatio (swimming pool) flanked by two lateralperistyles, which may have been used aspalaestrae. At the centre was thefrigidarium with four adjoining chambers in the corners, flanked on either side by twoapodyteria (changing rooms). South of these atepidarium flanked by two rooms that may have beensudatoria orlaconica (steam rooms) led finally to the southern, hottest end of the complex, where thecaldarium stood projecting from the walls on either side, receiving the most sunlight and surrounded bypraefurnia orpropignea (chambers leading to the furnaces heating the wholethermae). An account stated that forests had been officially designated as sources for its heating fuel and that special taxes were imposed for its maintenance.[11]
Pipes from the Neronian structure were discovered between the Piazza and the Salita dei Crescenzi. Neronianopus caementicium (concrete) has also been discovered. Brick stamps dating from the re-building by Alexander Severus were found in the remains of ahypocaust in Palazzo Madama in 1871. Another hypocaust was found on the site of San Salvatore in Thermis.[12]
The ruins have been the source for numerous architectural fragments and sculptures re-used in subsequent centuries. Columns of grey granite,pavonazzetto, and even imperial porphyry were used in the architecture. Some of these, and their white marble capitals, have been found on the site. Several carved stone baths, including an "enormous basin for a fountain 6.70 metres in diameter, cut from a single block of red granite, with pieces of several others" have been found, together with the two complete basins described below.[13]
A monumental monolithic grey granite basin, alabrum, was removed from the site of the baths to theVilla Medici and was in the late eighteenth century moved to Florence. Since 1840, it has stood in the Medici'sBoboli Gardens in Florence.
The ruins of the baths also supplied an ornate column capital from the third century renovations of the baths. This capital, carved in relief with scenes of athletic triumph and the wreathing of the victor, was used as the base for the ancient Roman bronze fountain calledFontana della Pigna when it was moved to its present position in the exhedra of the Vatican'sCortile del Belvedere in 1608.
In the seventeenth century, during a renovation of the nearby Pantheon ordered byPope Alexander VII, three pink granite columns from the Baths of Nero were used to replace the row of three columns on the damaged extreme eastern end of the Pantheon's pronaos. These columns are themselves badly damaged.[14][15] Another column of pink granite was removed and re-erected in 1896 near thePorta Pia as a triumphal column supporting a winged victory in bronze and dedicated to theBreach of Porta Pia during the 1870Capture of Rome, the final military action ofItalian unification. Two further granite columns from the baths have been re-erected on-site beside the minor basilica ofSant'Eustachio.
In the late 1980s, building work on the erstwhile Medici residence the Palazzo Madama, now seat of theItalian Senate, brought to light another monumental stone basin – round and of bichromatic black-red Egyptian granite. The basin, which probably stood in thecaldarium for hot-water bathing, was restored (it had broken in three places) and was donated by the president of the SenateGiovanni Spadolini to the citizenry of Rome with a public ceremony. It is now a fountain – the Fontana del Senato – on a Renaissance pedestal in the area since renamed Piazza della Costituente, which connects Via degli Staderari with Via della Dogana vecchia and the Piazza Sant'Eustachio.
Media related toBaths of Nero at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Baths of Diocletian | Landmarks of Rome Baths of Nero | Succeeded by Baths of Trajan |