After a difficult year marked by various cases of structural damage caused by neglect and adverse weather conditions, the world's most famous buried city finally announces some good news. Restoration work on the Terme Stabiane are now completed and the monumental Baths are open to the public. For the first time, visitors will be able to visit the women's area, which was separate from the men's baths.
Both contained the classic sequence of rooms, the frigidarium, or cold water pool, the tepid water pool and the calderium, or hot baths, as well as dressing-rooms and the furnaces where the water was heated by slaves. In addition, there was an outdoor pool for summer bathing.
The Stabiane Baths date from the II century BC and are the oldest in Pompeii. Among items of special interest are the refined decorations of mythological scenes and figures in polychrome stucco work decorating the entrance and the exercise area.
For information: www.pompeiisites.org.
