Stabian Baths, Pompei (must see)

The Stabian Baths are the oldest bath complex discovered in Pompeii and, covering about 3,500 square metres, also the largest in the city. They offer a vivid look at everyday social life before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby Forum Baths, they were divided into separate men’s and women’s facilities.

The first highlight is easy to find. Walk forward from the main street entrance corridor into the heart of the complex to reach the centre of the main exercise courtyard. Here, a large open-air gymnasium spreads out, surrounded on three sides by sturdy stone colonnades. On the fourth side stood a swimming pool about 1.5 metres deep, where visitors could exercise or cool off before bathing.

After admiring the courtyard, walk toward the doorway in the right-hand corner of the longest colonnade. Step through the threshold into the men’s bathhouse to find the whitewashed changing room, which served as the main entry spine of the complex.

From this changing room, you can move directly into the men’s frigidarium. This circular chamber was designed for cold bathing, with four corner seating niches and a deep central plunge bath. Unlike the other main spaces, it had no equivalent in the smaller women’s section. The room is beautifully preserved, with its domed ceiling and rich stucco decorations still visible around the upper trim.

The experience continues with the rooms dedicated to progressive heat bathing. To follow the traditional Roman bathing sequence, return to the changing room and move forward into the tepidarium for warm bathing. Finally, walk straight ahead to find the caldarium, the hot bathing chamber farthest from the entrance. Here, hot air circulated beneath the floors and through the walls via a complex hypocaust system. Look closely at the raised floor tiles and hollow wall spaces to see the ingenuity of Roman underfloor heating, which kept the massive stone baths warm throughout the day.

The Stabian Baths are especially interesting because so much of the structure remains easy to understand. The bathing rooms, exercise courtyard, pool, richly decorated vaulted ceilings, and traces of decoration are still visible today.