Rotonda’s Thermae

The thermal building called “Rotonda’s one” is located in one of the most characteristic areas of Catania. It’s surrounded by a series of streets and alleys in the oldest part of town.

Like almost all the Roman times buildings, thermae survived to the terrible earthquake in 1693 and for this reason scholars have long considered them the example of building skill.  In addition, some famous scholars have considered them, without valid evidence, the construction model for the realization of the much more famous Pantheon in Rome.

It’s not easy to determine the date of the original construction because this building has been altered and amended several times during the different domains.  Thanks to a series of archaeological excavations, inside, it’s possible identified six ancient “restructuring” dating from Roman times to the seventeenth-eighteenth century. In addition, recent excavations have unearthed the ancient thermal baths with antique covering marble and hypocausts (that is heating systems).

In the Christian era (I-II century AD.), these ancient baths were transformed into a Church of which are barely visible two frescoes and the remains of a mosaic floor.