Outside the gate that faces the sea, at Pompeii, stood the most modern baths in the town: innovative heating plant, a swimming pool, a nymphaeum with a waterfall and three rooms allowing a route other than the classic one. And, unlike the baths in the centre, no division between men's and women's quarters: here everyone came in the same way.
What to see
The complex was built in the first decade of the first century and takes in the changing room, the cold room, the warm one, the steam bath and the hot room. The earthquake of 62 damaged it, and some consolidation work was still under way when Vesuvius erupted in 79: here too the eruption stopped a building site.
The baths are known above all for the paintings in the changing room, eight small panels of erotic subject painted high on the wall. They are the reason this building appears in every book on Roman customs, and they were found late: the excavations only reached here in 1958.
Visiting
The baths are just outside porta Marina, beside the main entrance to the excavations; you go in with the archaeological park ticket, but access may be limited or by rotation, so it should be checked on arrival. Half an hour.
Our editors' tip
Look at what is under those paintings: a row of numbered boxes for clothes. The most accepted explanation is that each little scene served to remember your own number, like a cloakroom token. The most famous thing about this place, in short, is probably a system for not losing your tunic.