Sarno Baths

Address: Insula 2, 17-21

Area: 1815 square meters

Rooms: +20

Sarno Baths or Terme Sarno is a public building that served as a bathhouse for residents of the city. The structure was heavily damaged during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and today most of it lies in ruins. However, the drainage system is perfectly preserved, although it is not recommended to climb there and study the underground system of the ancient city. It is too fragile and can collapse any time.

The Sarno Baths Central Complex lies at the intersection of the two main streets of Pompeii, Via Stabiana and Via di Nola, and occupy the entire interior of Insula. The baths were built as part of the renovation of the city of Pompeii after the earthquake of 62 years. The design followed the latest ideas in modern (at that time) bathing practice, allowing better interior lighting. In addition, a large open stadium for physical exercise was the central motive in the complex term. The most obvious feature in the location of the central baths is that it had only one set of bathing rooms, as shown in the opposite plan. This may mean that the baths were only for men or women who may have had access to the term during certain hours or days of the week.

A corridor leads to a rectangular atrium (d) or a living room that has a central ornamental basin and a large tablin (i.e., the owner’s office (s)) located at its western end. The atrium has retained significant remnants of plaster, but, again, they are too pale to describe. At what erosion occurred after archaeological excavations, and not during the eruption. So the first archaeologists saw the colorful walls, covered with frescoes. So Fausto and Felice Niccolono in their book "Houses and Monuments of Pompeii" provided us with detailed drawings of some original decorations. Some of them are taken from the library of the University of Heidelberg. According to the Niccoloni brothers, the fourth-style murals adorned the northern wall of the atrium. The decoration consisted of large black panels, alternating with architectural facades on a white background, all above the lower decorative frieze. In the center of one of the panels was depicted a mythological scene in which Bellerophon sits on the throne, receiving a letter from the Lycian king Iobath.