Bathing Culture in Roman Sicily (2 c. BCE – 2 c. CE)

The research project examines the development of bathing culture in Sicily, with particular focus on the period of Roman expansion and consolidation in the Island. For the first time, the evolutionary history of the phenomenon is outlined through a four-phase chronological framework (I–IV: 4th c. BCE to the 4th c. CE). This achievement was enabled also by fieldwork data, especially the survey of four bath complexes at Apollonia, Solunto, and Taormina (phases III–IV: 2nd c. BCE – 2nd c. CE). The choice of these sites aimed to fill a substantial gap in our knowledge concerning the forms, practices, and chronology of bathing culture from the late Republican to the early Imperial period. The re-evaluation of these monuments —supported by new phasing and reconstructive hypotheses— and their contextualization in the urban contexts contributes to reassess the role of the Island in the cultural dynamics of the Roman Mediterranean.