Roman Baths

After lunch, we had a tour of the Roman baths that line the square we've been visiting. When they saw steam rising from the earth, The Romans built a temple here for the goddess Minerva. It evolved into a complex system of pools and baths for healing and beauty. They built pipework, still here 2,000 years later, for sauna baths, steam rooms, massages, cold baths, and it even had centralized heating! 

The baths were the heart of the social life in the city until the Romans left. When they left the baths fell into disuse and disrepair and remained forgotten about for 1400 years. They were not rediscovered until 1878. The Normans built their own baths right over the Roman baths without realizing they were there. In the restoration, much of it looks like it did in the time of the Romans. Surrounding the main Bath are a series of sculptures of famous Romans, including Caesar. 

The tour of the baths walks you through the different rooms and explains the science behind how the water escapes from the fault lines and limestone under the earth here. We had an audio tour but I think most kids just enjoyed taking it all in! It was neat to go from the top down and see how it all worked. 

I love how happy our kids are to pose for me!