Baths of Caracalla, a Gladiator School, and Sacred Places

Monday, 7/26/10

Baths of Caracalla

 The group went this morning to the Baths of Caracalla. In their day they must have been magnificent. They are the best preserved baths of ancient Rome. When opened, they were the largest in the world, but the Baths of Diocletian, built later, were larger. The Farnese Bull and the Farnese Hercules, both huge, impressive statues that we had seen earlier in the Naples Museum, were found here, as were many mosaics, one of the most impressive of which I'd seen in the Vatican Museum. The bits and pieces we'd seen in different places began to come together so that I could imagine the magnificence of this setting in its day, even though they are ruins now. The black and white frescoes were originally from the second floor, which collapsed in past times. There are sometimes opera performances at these baths. I saw Aida here back in 1988, and it was an experience I'll never forget.

Gladiatorial School outside the Colosseum

 We stopped outside the Colosseum for a look at the gladiatorial school. Gladiators stayed there and prepared for the big show in the huge arena next door. They didn't live there, though. They were brought in for the games. The Romans felt it was too dangerous to have armed, trained gladiators living in Rome itself, especially after Spartacus' rebellion.

 Next, most of the group went to the Basilica of San Clemente. Sr. Theresa told us about Saint Clemens or Clement (she pronounced it both ways). St. Cyril, the inventor of the Cyrillic alphabet, is also interred there. There is a Mithraeum and the ruins of an ancient house or apartment complex. There is also an older church beneath the current structure, and we had the chance to visit what remains of all these.

"Christ yesterday, today, always"

 The group was free for the afternoon, so Susan and I went to visit the nearby cathedral of St. John Lateran. We rented an audio-guide, which was excellent. This church claims to be the oldest cathedral in Rome. It is hard to believe it is even older than what we saw in the excavations beneath St. Peter's. St. John Lateran was the seat of the pope before St. Peter's was built, and it is still his church in his role as the Bishop of Rome. It was built after Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire, and there is a monument, an Egyptian obelisk, with inscriptions to Constantine in the nearby square. 

As we listened to the audio-guide, we were in awe of the history of the place. Handel played on one of the organs, the one over the side entrance, for example. We really got some feel for how old the place was as we strolled through the cloisters. The monuments, layout, and much of the artwork and tombs reminded us of what we had seen in the Classical tradition. I took pictures I thought would interest my students, particularly of Latin inscriptions. I thought several were easy enough for them to read. We stayed for several hours, until we were too tired to do any more, and then we caught the number 3 bus back to Trastevere. Our hotel is really quite conveniently located, close to the end of the line for this bus, which is at a major terminal.

For more pictures from this day, visit this set on Flickr. 

My  thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities for funding this portion of my studies.