4/10: Baths of Caracalla and The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

 I have been a little bit down today. The transition from being alone, and then being with people, and now back to being alone, hit me harder than I ever would have imagined. So it took me a while to et going this morning.

Terme di Cara calla (Baths of Caracalla)

 

 

This was ancient Rome’s second largest public baths. It could hold as many as 8,000 people a day. It was built in 216 CE and was still functioning 300 years later. It was not until 537 CE during the Gothic War and the water supply was cut off during the siege of the city that it stopped being used. 

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

 This is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome. It was built in 434 CE. It is the largest Marian church of Rome. Its dimensions are 302’ long, 260’ wide, and 246’ high. The church was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1348. It has been damaged and renovated many times since then.