Termas romanas (Roman baths)

Os Romanos empregavam o vocábulo thermae para designar os banhos públicos. Usavam-nos com duas finalidades: terapia com águas medicinais e higiene pessoal do corpo. Compunham-se de vários compartimentos: apoditerium (vestiário); frigidarium (banhos frios); tepidarium (banhos tépidos); caldarium (banhos quentes) com água fornecida pelo praefurniu ou laconicum (estufa seca); sudatorium ou concamerata sudatio (estufa húmida). As mais conhecidas em Roma eram as de Dioclesiano (séc. I AD) e Antonino Caracalla, inauguradas em 216 AD.

The Romans used the term thermae to designate public baths. They used them for two purposes: therapy with medicinal water and personal hygiene of the body. The baths were composed of several compartments: apoditerium (room for undressing); frigidarium (cold baths); tepidarium (warm baths), caldarium (hot baths) with water supplied by praefurniu or laconicum (dry steam bath); sudatorium or concamerata sudatio (moist steam bath). The best known in Rome were those of Diocletian (1th century AD) and Antoninus Caracalla, inaugurated in 216 AD.

Pietro Santi Bartoli (1635-1700)-'thermae Agrippae (hot baths of Agrippa)'-etching and engraving-1699 in Romane Magnitudinis Monumenta

John William Godward (1861-1922)-'at the thermae'-oil on canvas

Jean-Pierre-Laurent Houel (1735-1813)-'ancient thermae in the Monastery of Carmelites at Catania'-gouache and watercolour St Petersburg-Hermitage

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)-'the tepidarium'-oil on panel-1881 Port Sunlight (UK)-the Lady Lever Art Gallery

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)-'an apodyterium'-oil on panel-1886 Private collection





http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/baths_of_caracalla.htm Caracalla

vídeo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvA8_Y9UUKg Diocletian