Piscina romana (calidarium) di Corso Bagni

The Roman pool beneath Corso Bagni in Acqui Terme belonged to the bathing quarter of Aquae Statiellae. Discovered in 1913, the calidarium preserves a large basin and remains of the heating system used in Roman baths.

Why it matters

The pool is evidence of how the Roman town used its thermal waters. Its monumental basin formed part of a larger bathing complex and connects Acqui Terme's Roman history with the springs that shaped settlement in the Bormida valley.

What to notice

The basin's internal surfaces were once faced with marble, fragments of which document its original finish. Rooms beside the pool were heated by a hypocaust system of raised floors and wall channels. A water channel linked the bath with the Bollente spring. The complex lay in a district beyond the dense centre of the Roman town, connected to it by the Via Aemilia Scauri.

Context and history

The structures were discovered in 1913 during construction work beside the Grand Hotel Nuove Terme. Excavations revealed the hot-water pool and adjoining rooms with hypocaust heating. A nearby Roman amphitheatre was identified in the 1960s. The remains form part of the broader archaeological record of Aquae Statiellae, including material now held in the Civic Archaeological Museum.