Baths of Nero
The Baths of Nero, also called Baths of Alexander, were a huge Roman bath complex on the Campus Martius in Rome. Built by Emperor Nero around AD 62–64 and rebuilt by Emperor Alexander Severus around AD 227–229, they stood between the Pantheon and the Stadium of Domitian. They were one of Rome’s most famous buildings and among the first grand imperial-style baths, designed on a monumental, symmetrical plan.
Today only fragments survive. In the 16th century some foundations of the caldarium were visible, but now the site lies under Piazza della Rotonda and nearby streets, with a few wall remnants incorporated into Palazzo Madama. The baths covered about 190 by 120 meters.
The water came from the Aqua Virgo and later from the Aqua Alexandrina after Severus repaired and renamed the works. The layout had a central swimming pool (natatio) on the north, flanked by peristyles and changing rooms. There was a large frigidarium with adjoining chambers, a tepidarium with steam rooms, and a hot caldarium at the southern end heated by furnaces.
Many architectural pieces from the baths were reused elsewhere. Columns of grey granite, pavonazzetto, and imperial porphyry appeared in later buildings. A large red granite basin moved to Villa Medici and then to Florence’s Boboli Gardens; a grey granite basin became Fontana del Senato in Rome. Some columns were taken for the Pantheon’s facade and other sites, and a carved capital from the baths helped form a later fountain in the Vatican.
The baths remained in use at least into the 5th century. Renaissance drawings by Palladio and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger help us imagine Nero’s design, and archaeology has confirmed much of the layout.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:24 (CET).