Rome - Baths of Diocletian

Having a few hours to spare on our last day, we decided to check out something we'd walked past many times but never investigated. Turns out it was the Baths of Diocletian, now part of the National Roman Museum. It was a bit pricey to get in because there was a modern art exhibition on there too (13€ for an 8-day pass to a bunch of museums we didn't have time to visit).

Anyhow, these baths were the largest ever constructed by Roman emperors. It's a huge site for a single complex - larger in land area than St Peter's Basilica. A lot of the original structure has broken down, but what remains still give a sense of the grand scale of the place (#1,2,3) and its craftsmanship (#4 - Hercules vs Achelous). Part of the original frigidarium (cold bath room) has been turned into an entire church (#5).

There were also a lot of assorted artefacts arranged around the area with little ceremony (#6). I guess when you dig up your 500th 2000 year old broken statue/sarcophagus it's not that special any more. I thought the museum itself was pretty average.Read more