The Ancient Roman Baths

THE ANCIENT ROMAN BATHS on Corso Bagni

Discovered in 1913 during the construction of the new arcades, the large pool was part of a vast thermal complex dating back to the Roman imperial age, believed to have extended to the current Piazza Italia.

Equipped with steps and waterproofed with cocciopesto, it originally had a marble covering, now almost completely disappeared.

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You are now walking under the arcades of Corso Bagni, the city's main artery, after leaving behind Piazza Italia, where the Grand Hotel Nuove Terme overlooks, and after admiring the Fountain of the Water Lilies descending from Corso Viganò. In this place, in 1913, during the excavations for the reconstruction of the new arcades, the large Roman pool was discovered, which was part of a vast thermal complex dating back to the imperial age. This facility stood in a peripheral district of ancient Aquae Statiellae - the name by which Acqui Terme was called in antiquity - along the route of the ancient Via Aemilia Scauri, the road that connected Vada Sabatia to Dertona (modern-day Tortona). Further excavations, carried out in 1974 and 2001, led to a complete exposure of the pool and the definitive confirmation of the hypothesis that this thermal facility was of considerable size, perhaps extending to the current Piazza Italia, although today much of the complex is hidden under modern buildings.

The pool has a rectangular shape and considerable dimensions (13m x 6.5m).

The basin is directly carved into the rock and surrounded by a powerful perimeter wall made of stone flakes that supported the cover. Access could be from any side, as the entire surrounding wall perimeter has three steps of different heights, from which one could descend into the basin; on the long sides, it is bordered by a wide corridor, while on the short sides, there is a much narrower passage. Originally, the environment must have been covered by a vault covered with mosaics made of colored glass paste tiles (found in large quantities during excavations) and equipped with large windows protected by glass panes.

The pool, directly supplied with water from the "Bollente," was probably the natatio of the baths, while the calidarium was perhaps the room that preceded the natatio, of which the suspensurae - ancient pillars that held up the floor and allowed the passage of hot air underneath - are still visible in the heating system.