The only remains of what used to be the Baths of Trajan can be found in the Colle Oppio Park, just north of the Colosseum in Rome. The architect was Apollodorus of Damascus.
Baths of Trajan Rome
Address, opening hours and admission
Address: Parco di Colle Oppio – Rome. Opening hours and admission: The monument can be seen from outside.
History and description
Other Terme may be more famous (especially the Baths of Caracalla and the Diocletian Baths), but Trajan’s Baths may rightly lay the claim to being the first of its kind in the Eternal City.
The water for the Baths of Trajan partly came from Lake Bracciano (through an aqueduct that was constructed by and named after the emperor himself) and partly from the nearby Cisterna delle Sette Sale.
The entire complex had a surface of around 60 thousand square meters. Underneath the baths there were parts of Nero’s famous Domus Aurea.
The main ruins of the baths are the semi-circular building above the present entrance of the Domus Aurea (unfortunately closed at the moment) and two exedras.
Thanks to a huge marble 3rd century city map that used to be known as the Forma Urbis Romae or the Forma Urbis Severiana, it has been possible to reconstruct the baths’ floor plan. This map was attached to the back wall of the Santi Cosma and Damiano Church.
