Terme Suburbane

Pompeii


Just outside ancient Pompeii's city walls, this 1st-century-BC bathhouse is famous for several erotic frescoes that scandalised the Vatican when they were revealed in 2001. The panels decorate what was once the apodyterium (changing room). The room leading to the colourfully frescoed frigidarium (cold bath) features fragments of stuccowork, as well as one of the few original roofs to survive at Pompeii. Beyond the tepadarium (tepid bath) and caldarium (hot bath) rooms are the remains of a heated outdoor swimming pool.

The bathhouse was closed at the time of writing.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Pompeii attractions

1. Porta Marina

0.02 MILES

The ruin of Pompeii's main entrance is at Porta Marina, the most impressive of the seven gates that punctuated the ancient town walls. A busy passageway…

2. Porta Marina Entrance & Ticket Office

0.05 MILES

One of two main entrances to the ruins of Pompeii, located an 80m walk south of the Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri Circumvesuviana train station.

3. Antiquarium

0.05 MILES

Pompeii's small museum hosts rotating exhibitions showcasing the site's archaeological finds and exploring various aspects of ancient Roman culture. The…

4. Tempio di Venere

0.07 MILES

On the right as you enter the ruin's main entrance is the 1st-century BC Tempio di Venere, formerly one of the town's most opulent temples.

5. Tempio di Apollo

0.1 MILES

The oldest and most important of Pompeii's religious buildings, the Tempio di Apollo largely dates from the 2nd century BC, including the striking…

6. Basilica

0.11 MILES

The basilica was the 2nd-century-BC seat of Pompeii's law courts and exchange. The semicircular apses would later influence the design of early Christian…

7. Granai del Foro

0.12 MILES

The Granai del Foro is now used to store hundreds of amphorae and a number of body casts that were made in the late 19th century by pouring plaster into…

8. Foro

0.13 MILES

A huge rectangle flanked by limestone columns, the foro was ancient Pompeii's main piazza, as well as the site of gladiatorial games before the Anfiteatro…